Copacabana is dead

This is a nice,informative,and sad report from "um Amigo do Playground"

made it back home today. This most recent trip was really interesting. I arrived on January 6. The last official day of operation for Help was Thursday, January 7. By Saturday, January 9, the Help building was gutted and empty. This includes the adjacent restaurants. It was quite eerie seeing that area so dark and desolate at night. Help's closing has affected the entire Copacabana (Avenida Atlantica) scene. Meia Pattaca no longer exists in its former fashion. It is now a family oriented restaurant with no working girls to be found. The working girl beach scene was also destroyed by the closing of Help. This past week during the immediate post-Help fallout, a number of the Help girls could be found hanging out at the Balcony. It's not large enough to replace Help. It is not a club, and it is not indoors. I do not think it will ever be a true replacement for Help. Besides there really is a city-wide government effort to "clean-up" before the World Cup (2014) and Olympics (2016) arrive. Government officials do not want the shadier aspects of Rio so readily visible to the international eye. Many do not feel that the government will accept the scene simply being shifted a few blocks further north from Help to the Balcony. They want it removed from the strip altogether. There is already speculation about when the government will move to shut down the Balcony. Of course we all know that the game will always exist in Rio. The girls will just be working in places less visible along paths less well traveled.

A number of the girls have already moved out of Copacabana, because without Help and a steady supply of easy marks willing to pay overinflated prices, they can not afford rent in Copacabana. Girls who were doing temporary rentals in Copa are already moving back to their respective parts of the city. Many girls told me that they were going to work in Europe for a few months. Many told me that there is no reason for them to hang around Copacabana now that Help is gone. Many guys I know cancelled January trips once they learned that Help was closed. Several guys already in Rio altered travel plans and decided to fly out to Fortaleza for a few days.

The scene has really changed. Based on what I have seen this month (mid summer, peak tourist season), I predict that there will be very little or nothing going on in Copacabana during the slow winter season. There will always be fun to be had in Rio, but you will need to go to Niteroi, Jacarpagua, Baja de Tijuca, and other areas outside of Copacabana to enjoy the best of Rio these days.