Sun, Mar 06, 2005 page7

• Bogota's swingers rubbing Catholics the wrong way

  • THE GUARDIAN
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  It's Thong Night at Elle et Lui, one of the Colombian capital's more popular spots if you're looking for sex with someone else's spouse. Behind a nondescript door, in a dimly lit room adorned with erotic paintings, couples chat and dance in various states of undress.

  This is the heart of Colombia's swinging scene.

  Daniel, a greying 43-year old wine importer, has his arm draped over the shoulder of his wife, Maria.

  "Swinging is honest infidelity," he says. "I much prefer that if my wife has a fantasy of being with another man I'm involved, rather than finding out that she's been going behind my back to meet at some motel."

  Until quite recently Daniel could not have been so open, let alone have found a bar in which to swing.

  While other Colombian and Latin American cities sway to the sexy rhythms of salsa, Bogota has long been known as upright and prudish.

  The rest of Colombia normally describes Bogotanos as cold, uptight and always in a hurry. But the city of seven million has undergone a quiet sexual revolution.

  In the past two years a number of bars catering to swingers have sprung up.

  And though homophobia is still rife, the gay community has made itself more visible, putting its stamp on a fashionable neighborhood, now known as the Gay Hills.

  Though the swingers regard their activity as harmless fun and a totem of the city's newfound freedom, it has set them on a collision course with a city councillor who believes the more tolerant attitude to sexual mores is ripping society apart faster than the drug mafias or the 40 years of civil war.

  "Now we're at a point of crisis," Francisco Noguera said. "As these clubs promote promiscuity, which then threatens the family, we can say that these clubs are one of the greatest threats to our society."

  In a still deeply conservative society, where senior members of the government belong to the most radically conservative sect of the Catholic church, Noguera's campaign has struck a chord, especially in older people alarmed at what they see as a new permissiveness.

  He has prompted questions in congress and a debate on the editorial pages of the newspapers.

  "I was getting my hair cut and someone handed me a magazine to read," he said. "Inside was an article on these swinger clubs, and I couldn't believe this was happening in my city."

  Less than two months ago five swinger clubs advertised in Bogota's listings magazine. He proudly showed that in the latest issue only two remained. "We hope they'll all be gone soon."

  The swingers' clubs are simply the first salvo in his war on permissiveness. "My goal is to clean this city up and one day I hope to see this city without any prostitute bars, gay bars or swingers' bars," he said.

  The bar owners say their clients are being harassed.

  "Imagine, you're sitting there naked with your wife trying to create a sexy atmosphere, and then the police come up to you to ask for your identification," said the owner of Elle et Lui, who asked not to have her real name published.

  The rules of the bar, she said, ensure that it is not sleazy. No single men are allowed, although some single women sit with couples or linger by the bar.

  Some clubs lay out detailed instructions on their websites for the first-time visitors, emphasising comfortable clothes ("wear boxers not briefs") and mutual respect.

  "The idea is that both couples are happy with the swap, so that means satisfying all four people and that can be complicated; but if one doesn't want to do it, then forget it."

  Regulars say that most couples don't swap partners, but rather come to join in the raunchy parties.

  "This is a freer city now and people want to experiment with things like swinging," said Maria, 33, who with her husband, Daniel, has been swinging for three years.

  Bar owners say that the local authorities have no right to shut them down, because sexual rights are protected by the constitution.

  But there is a growing recognition that there are people in Bogota who want to turn back the clock.

  "You have to wonder, if they do shut us down who will be next?' Maria said.
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