Mexico City's Underground Sex Scene Is HIV Friendly

If you haven’t experienced the sex scene in Mexico City you are missing out. When visiting a new city there are key highlights to take in. There are historical spots, tasty restaurants, and compelling cultural art spaces. For gay men an important key highlight is the sex.

There is a thriving gay sex scene in Mexico City. You can meet men in bars, saunas, or on gay apps. If you’re feeling adventurous you can even take a ride on Mexico City’s metro. It’s notorious for gay sex. But locating the underground bareback sex scene requires a bit more investigation and you’re not likely to find it on Tripadvisor.

Before getting into the gay sex scene let’s talk about the men of Mexico City. It has some of the best looking men in the world. I don’t just mean conventionally attractive men, but all sorts of handsome and sexy men- jocks, hipsters, daddies, bears, and twinks. If you want to get a good idea of what men in Mexico City look like I suggest following Instagramer @Gdeldiablo. Every day he posts all sorts of thirsty pics of men he encounters on the streets of Mexico.

It’s not just the physical appearance that makes the men of Mexico appealing. It’s also their attitude. It seems like they are in a constantly horny. And many of them could be described as “morbo.” In Mexico it basically means dirty, kinky, or piggy.

There are conventional spaces to cruise for sex, like the back room of Tom’s Leather bar or the popular sauna, Sodome. But there is also the thriving underground bareback sex culture. These are organized parties at a private club or home and men attend with the express purpose of having condomless sex. The key to locating the underground bareback sex scene is talking with locals and doing some basic research. Aside from the various hook up sites, Twitter is also a great resource for gathering information about sex in Mexico.

On my most recent trip to Mexico City I discovered two different bareback sex parties that were happening on a Saturday night. I learned about both of these from chatting with guys online. It was a good sign that there was more than one party to choose from but there wasn’t a good way of predicting which would be better. I asked a friend and he suggested I go to the one in the “better neighborhood”. But in the end, all things being equal, I chose the one the one in the better neighborhood simply because it was closer.

The party billed itself as “el mejor concepto Bareback de la CDMX,” and I was eager to discover if they lived up to their claims.  The location was a nondescript building on an ordinary street that requires you ring the bell for entry. It was essentially a two story house that had ben converted to a play space. I paid, signed the register and they gave me a bag for me clothes.

The club had a great set up, with slings, benches, glory holes and dark rooms. Techo music played throughout and the space was dimly lit. An open bar was included with the price of entry, which made relaxing very easy. The majority of guys were naked with a few in jockstraps, gear, or underwear.

Of course, set up is important at a sex space but it’s the men that usually determine whether it’s a good time. There were a wide variety of men, definitely something for everyone. What was especially interesting was that over two thirds of the men had the look of a chacal. A chacal can best be described as rough trade –someone dark skinned who usually does physical labor. That isn’t to say the place was full of guys who work with their hands but the “look” was simply a pervasive theme.

Of course there was plenty of hot sex happening but what was of particular interest was that men showed up at this organized event with the express purpose of having sex without condoms. This is still a radical act in a country where PrEP is not widely available and undetectable is not well known.

It’s a sharp contrast to the U.S. where our sexual landscape has been transformed because of these recent scientific advancements. In many American sex spaces it’s common to encounter men of different HIV statues and most of them are having condomless sex.

Such a thing was considered scandalous in the late 1990s. People who identified as “barebackers” were pariahs. Most were HIV-positive and they created sexual gatherings so they could have condomless sex with other HIV-positive guys. HIV-positive guys organized underground sex spaces to find each other and make a connection. That is what made this bareback party in Mexico so interesting. A space was created where positive guys could have sex and guys showed up. Lots of guys.

When traveling outside the US and having sex it’s almost like going back in time. For most men PrEP is not an option and a lack of understanding of undetectable allows fear of sex with positive men to persist. As a result, sexual undergrounds can thrive. And that is precisely what I was fortunate enough to experience. If you travel to Mexico City, or other global destinations, there is sexual underground for you to explore. You’ll need to do a little bit of research, online and in the field, but all sorts of sexual adventures await.