Ponta Grossa (Brazil)

Community

Social events, entertainment, bars, festivals, cafes, bookstores, etc.

  • Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG)

    • UEPG has a group therapy session for queer students.

  • Cavan77 is a bar close to campus that frequently has Queer-friendly events on the weekends, like drag shows.

  • Deck is a club near campus where queer people generally feel safe to go out.

  • Rei das Batidas is another bar in the Centro that is sort of a bohemian safe haven, which is absolutely queer-friendly (highly recommend- live samba bands every Friday night and their food is spectacular; one of my favorite places to go).

  • There is an organization called Renascer in the city that offers language classes to trans folks.

  • Do NOT go to Choperia Baviera. A friend was told by a bouncer that “men can’t kiss each other here”; the owner of the bar was not helpful at all when the queerphobia was addressed.

Political/Social Environment

Resources assessing queer- and trans-friendliness in your country

I would say Ponta Grossa in general is a rather conservative city.  My closest bicha friend is always wary of going to new places, so he tends to go back to places he already knows are queer-friendly (like the ones listed above), rather than venturing out to new places.  There are certainly queer people in the University setting, but it is rather rare to see lots of openly queer people out in public settings here. As a white, cis-gender, bisexual women, I have never felt unsafe here, most likely due to the privileges of my race and the fact that most people probably perceive me as straight.

Legal

Laws that are accepting or discriminatory and legal resources specifically for LGBTQ persons

Housing

I checked out a Facebook page for Moradias in Ponta Grossa and found housing pretty quickly with a family.  Not sure if there are any LGBTQ-specific resources.

Health

Medical resources for LGBTQ persons in your community (special clinics, testing, treatment, pharmacies, etc.)

Not specific to queer people, but UEPG has an ambulatório on campus at both locations, which is free to all students and employees of the university.  I would highly recommend going there before going to SUS or a private hospital. I just went for a case of strep throat and it was quick, free, and convenient to get seen by a doctor and get a prescription for antibiotics.

Culture

Podcasts, literature, movies, music, etc.

Language

How to include trans/gender-nonbinary people in conversations in your country’s language(s)

Not sure that there are any regional-specific things for this particular category besides what other Fulbrighters have already mentioned/included for Brazil/Portuguese in general.

Race & Ethnicity

Religion & Spirituality

Like all our resources, our Brazil resources were recommended by Fulbrighters in the host country. Because of the vast and thorough resource collection the Brazil cohort of 2018-19 provided, we have copied their recommendations nearly verbatim. Please contact us if you have updated information.