The Vila Mimosa is Rio’s oldest and largest prostitution zone, where over 3,000 women offer their services in more than 70 bars and nightclubs situated around a bustling marketplace.
But the women’s income has recently been hit by the grim economic climate in the Brazil, which is suffering its deepest recession in a century and leaving millions out of pocket.
Four weeks before the Olympics begin, some Mimosa sex workers have launched a desperate bid to lure foreign visitors. A flyer printed in English is being distributed in Rio – but it is not known how widely. It states that an hour’s sex will cost 60 reals (£13), down from 90 reals (£20), while a threesome is priced at 40 reals (£9) per girl for half an hour, and 80 reals (£18) for an hour.
Long-term prostitute Aline Docinha, 39, told Mail Online that they do not want to see a repeat of the World Cup, when business actually dropped.
She said: “We were all expecting so much from the World Cup, because everyone told us demand would be huge. We all thought we’d make a fortune—We put big TV screens in the road for the men to watch football, we put on barbeques, and Brazilian music parties.But hardly anyone turned up. During the World Cup the road was virtually empty. I think the foreigners were scared to come to a place like this, which isn’t close to the beaches or hotels. And they were probably afraid of catching something too.There were a few Argentine’s and Uruguayans, but they didn’t have much money and tried to bargain right down. Even our regular Brazilian clients didn’t show up, they were too interested in watching the football.But this time around we’re under no illusions. We know we’ll be forgotten during the Olympics, just like we were during the World Cup.That’s why we’re being proactive. We just want to make enough to pay our bills”.
Aline, who has worked in the red light district for 12 years, claims that before Brazil’s economic crisis she would manage six to eight clients a day, but today she is lucky to find even one during her 12-hour shift.
She added: “Even then, they try to bargain the price down. There are days that I go home without having made a single centavo. Many Brazilians who used to come here don’t have money to spend anymore”.She described the Vila Mimosa district as a ‘supermarket of sex’ and encouraged foreigners staying in Rio for the Olympics, expected to number half a million, to try it out.
She said: “There are women here for every taste, black, white, chubby, mature, whatever you like. You can walk around and take your time until you find the one you like the most.And just like any supermarket, we’ve now got some great deals and we’re cutting our prices. There’s no other place in Rio like it. Take a bit of time while you’re here to come here”.
The Vila Mimosa is less than a mile from the Maracana football stadium where the Olympics opening ceremony is to take place on August 5.
The district dates back to the 1920s, when Eastern European women fleeing World War I, settled in the area. Poor and without their husbands, they turned to prostitution to make a living.The zone’s busiest area is a 2500-square-metre covered arcade, divided into small bars where prostitutes tout for customers. Male prostitutes and transvestites are banned from the district, to preserve Mimosa’s tradition as a place for exclusively heterosexual prostitution.While prostitution is legal in Brazil, owning a brothel is not and each establishment is officially licensed as a legitimate business such as a bar or snooker club.
Gabriela Alves, 39, who has also worked in the zone for 12 years, says many of the women are facing ruin because of falling business and are desperate to bring in foreigners during the Olympics.
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