Campo Alegre (brothel)
Campo Alegre, also known as Le Mirage, is a large open-air brothel in Curaçao. It has been operated since the 1940s. Originally an army encampment, it is located off Seru Fortunaweg near Curaçao International Airport.[1] It is the largest legal brothel in Caribbean.[3] Curaçao, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, permits the business of prostitution within its territory within strict regulation.
Le Mirage | |
| Address | Seru Fortunaweg Curaçao[1] |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 12°10′41″N 68°56′29″W |
| Opened | 30 May 1949[2] |
| Website | |
| campoalegresex | |
History
In the 1920s, oil refineries were opened on the island. Women migrated to the island to service the needs of the oil workers and sailors from the tankers.[3] In the 1930s & 1940s, Venezuelan, Colombian and Dominican prostitutes operated in the town centre.[2] The arrival of the Dutch and American navies to guard the island in the 1940s increased the demand for prostitutes.[3] The government banned prostitution from the town centre, but this was unenforceable.[2]
The governor appointed a commission that included the police, the public health department and the clergy with a view to solving the prostitution problem. They concluded that the best alternative was to concentrate prostitution in one location away from the town centre,[2] The plan was for a complex of appeasements where prostitutes could work independently.[2] On May 30, 1949, the complex named Campo Alegre (also called Le Mirage) was opened.[2][3][4] It had the approval of the Colonial Governor with the support of the Queen of the Netherlands.[5] Initially sex workers were recruited from Cuba and Venezuela.[5]
Woman are issued with a 3-month visa to work in the brothel. Between the late 1940s to the mid 1990s, half of the prostitutes returned for further 3 months' work.[3]
Between 1949 and 1996, an estimated 25,000 sex workers have been employed in the establishment.[5]
Current operation
Although originally run by the government, the establishment is now privately run to government regulations.[6]
Housed in an ex-army barracks, it has a capacity to house 300 sex workers, although normally there are about 150 women working there.[6] Only foreign prostitutes are allowed to work there,[3] mainly from Colombia and the Dominican Republic.[6] The women work on a three-month visa.[6] Regular health checks are carried out and the women have to carry a health certificate ("pink card").[3] The use of condoms is mandatory.[6]
An admission charge is levied on entry. Clients negotiate a price with the sex workers, who work independently.[6] Within the facility, which is billed as a "Gentleman's Club", is a bar, billiard tables and slot machines. In the evenings, the women put on pole dancing and striptease shows.[6]
Many of the customers are sailors from the ships anchored in the deep-water harbour.[3]
See also
References
- "Curacao Adult entertainment". In your pocket. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- "About Campo". Campo Alegre. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- Kempadoo, K, Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean
- "Sex Tourism And Trafficking In The Dutch Caribbean". Curacao Chronicle. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- "Curaçao Opens Campo Alegre Brothel". NSWP. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- Liberman, Si (2 August 2009). "Curacao's X-Rated Resort". Writes - The Official Magazine of IFWTWA. Retrieved 24 December 2017.