Rocking Rio de Janeiro opens its first nude beach

Pedro Ribeiro lives just one block away from Copacabana beach, one of the world's most celebrated stretches of golden sand. But almost every weekend he drives nearly three hours to soak up the sun on his own terms in the buff.

Following a two-decade battle Ribeiro helped spearhead as the head of a local nudist association, Rio de Janeiro has its first beach for nudists, which may surprise some given the city's renown for its hedonistic carnival celebrations and anything goes attitude.

Abrico beach, about 40km west of central Rio, was officially made a nudist beach last month.

While Brazilian beachwear may be as close as one can get to being nude while ostensibly clothed, for Brazilians those tiny spandex triangles covering private parts make all the difference.

Nudism outside of carnival parades is widely frowned upon in Brazil. On the more than 7,400km of coastline, there are just eight official nudist beaches, now including Rio's Abrico.

That's compared to more than 200 nude recreation areas in the US under the care of the American Association for Nude Recreation, and even more common nudism in Europe.

"It's still very taboo. Most people here continue to mix up nudism and free love," said Ribeiro, as he strolled the sand in his birthday suit, accessorised with a cap to shield his head from the sun.

"In Rio, you have carnival celebrations with nude or nearly nude people parading in the samba schools," he said. "But Rio residents only accept that during carnival."

The municipal law passed last month requires police to patrol the beach. But so, far none have showed up, according to Ribeiro.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beach for nudists comes to rocking Rio

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