Porto Alegre Solidifies Its Status As Brazilian Capital Of Public Nudity

The Brazilian city of Porto Alegre has recorded at least three cases in a month of people going into the streets the same way they came into the world — absolutely naked. The most recent happened November 7 when a man was spotted nude walking calmly through the coastal city. The two earlier culprits were women.

In the latest streaking sensation, according to the newspaper Correio do Povo, a motorist called the police after glimpsing a man without clothing walking across Loureiro da Silva Avenue. Police did not find anyone however.

And all this even before summer arrives in the Southern Hemisphere. These nudists are turning up the heat all on their own.

On November 6, the MMA fighter Betina Baino was interviewed by RBS TV, as she walked completely nude to blow off some steam. She ended up brought in by police in North Porto Alegre.

“I’m not undressed, I’m natural. What isn’t natural is people being unhealthy. What isn’t natural is an athlete prostituting herself in order to survive. What isn’t natural is a prostitute who should be rich ending up homeless,” said Betina. The entirety of the nude walk interview can be seen below.

According to G1, friends were surprised by the fighter's attitude, who has since been hospitalized. It is unknown whether Betina suffers from some sort of psychological problem. She is still under observation in a city hospital.

The spate of stripping started October 30th, when a 30 year-old woman was taken to a psychiatric clinic after taking off her clothes and running through Moinhos de Vento Park, also known as the Big Park. The Municipal Secretary of Health said the woman’s family informed the authorities she suffered from mental illness.

Porto Alegre is the capital of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul where a new tradition has taken off in which protestors take off their clothes. In 2013 alone there were at least three protests with nudist involvement (here, here, and here).

NOTE: This article was adapted from a post written in Portuguese in the Brasil Post.