When Tourismo Buenos Aires asked me to speak at the LGBTQ+ travel conference, GNetwork360, it was the perfect opportunity to check out the local queer women’s scene.
My Argentinian friend, Gabby Aranda is very proud of her country and does an incredible job playing host when I visit her. But when she suggested the local lesbian party Fiesta Rose Girls was the best lesbian event in the world, I’m not going to lie to you – I was rather skeptical.
I’ve attended lesbian parties and events in 34 countries. I’ve also been on the media teams for several of the world’s largest lesbian festivals for many years. But this was an opportunity to see for myself what Fiesta Rose Girls was all about.
After giving my speech at GNetwork360 but before the monthly Mega Rose Girls party, I had dinner with their founder DJ Quimey Toro and a few friends to learn more about the event. Through my little bits of Spanish and their little bits of English plus a dash of Google Translate, we were able to commensurate on the state of queer women’s spaces in Argentina and around the world.
Quimey reminded me that before Rose Girls started in 2021 there were no parties or events for queer women in Argentina. “I created Rose Girls because we needed a safe space for women. For us and by us. Where we can enjoy ourselves without harassment or uncomfortable situations.” It seems eroticized lesbianism was creating awkward and dangerous situations for queer women who just wanted to get together and dance. That’s an unfortunate theme for queer women around the world regardless of what country we’re discussing.
The night of the party, I texted Gabby a photo of my outfit for approval. She told me to ditch the heels, stop trying so hard, and be ready for her to pick me up. While I was killing time waiting for her I turned to Tiktok and Instagram to see what I was getting myself into.
I immediately realized Fiesta Rose Girls has a combined 332,000 followers across platforms. For context, that’s 6 times the following of the world’s largest lesbian festival Dinah Shore. Video after video came up showcasing partygoers twerking, cheering, taking shots, being interviewed about queer topics, and participating in Tikok challenges. With more than 5 million likes on their account, I was mesmerized. I’ve seen lesbian influencers with numbers like that, but never a lesbian party or hell a lesbian business of any kind in general.
While there are multi-day lesbian festivals such as Girls in Wonderland and Dinah Shore that are larger in scale, there is no doubt Fiesta Rose Girls is the biggest monthly lesbian party in the world.
Arriving at the party and climbing the stairs to the overhead VIP booth absolutely blew me away. I was in no way prepared for 1500 queer women to be grinding below me to a hypnotic Bad Bunny remix as cocktail waitresses with sparklers delivered bottles of Grey Goose to our table.
It wasn’t just that the party was absolutely packed with dancing queers. It wasn’t just the alcohol. It was also the production value for the event. As queer women, we’ve gotten so used to attending lesbian parties in random dive bars and low-budget basement venues that we come to expect low quality.
I was mesmerized by the giant screens mounted behind the state of the art DJ booth displaying the Rose Girls dancers as they performed their hearts out. I was so impressed by Rose Girls that my new Argentinian friends and I danced well into the early hours of the morning leaving the club at 7 AM well after sunrise.
Maybe it was my excitement for my newfound friends or the gloss of the party itself but I couldn’t help but share my experience all over social media. For the next several days I was inundated with DMs from queer women around the world shocked at the scale and production value of the event. In fact, nearly two years later, the reel I posted that night is still one of my most viewed.
Since founding Fiesta Rose Girls, Quimey has taken her mega-successful event all around Argentina and abroad with offshoot parties in Uraguay and Chile. While the international parties are smaller in scale than the Buenos Aires original, Quimey is still averaging around 500 attendees.
This year Rose Girls has really stepped their game up, hiring staff, expanding their reach, and working with brands like Blasphemy Wines, Gizeh, and Cabify.
Looking to attend one of their amazing parties? Join EveryQueer on our Gay Argentina trip where we’ll be attending the party, and also participate in Buenos Aires Pride, one of the largest pride parades in the world.
Quimey is also pulling in high-level sponsors that go beyond event advertising. Her multi-level partnerships with Buttman, a high-end sex toy company, have led to tangible conversations about the sexual health needs of Argentine Queer women. They’re currently working on a new lesbian prophylactic device to be marketed alongside safer sex best practices specifically for our community.
It’s only a matter of time before Fiesta Rose Girls and DJ Quimey Toro rival some of the biggest queer events in the world. Let’s be honest, she’s already pulling in bigger numbers than some lesbian parties at the world’s largest pride events and that’s on a random Saturday in the middle of the winter. I’ll be betting on Quimey. I, for one, can’t wait to see what she does next.
