That time of the year again

     RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Sex rarely makes the news in Brazil's
conservative Northeast - until a small town declared an official Orgasm Day
on Monday.

     Espertantina Mayor Felipe Santolia endorsed the May 9 holiday, which
he said was intended to improve relationships between married couples.

     "We're celebrating orgasm in all its senses. There's even a panel
discussion on premature ejaculation. But from what I've seen, women have
more trouble achieving orgasm than men, especially in marriage," Santolia
said by telephone from Esperantina, 1,300 miles north of Rio de Janeiro.

     Santolia said the remote town of 38,000 people has been unofficially
celebrating orgasm day for years, but that the town's former mayor had
vetoed a bill making it an official municipal holiday.

     The city council passed a law Saturday creating the holiday. Santolia,
who took office earlier this year, said he would sign the bill later Monday.

     "I'm 32, single and I have an open mind. Beside the theme is very much
of the moment," he said.

     Orgasm Day celebrations include a series of panel discussions by
sexologists from across Brazil and a presentation of Eve Ensler's play "The
Vagina Monologues."

     Santolia said the idea of celebrating Orgasm Day at first created a
scandal in this poor region, known for its religious fervor. But he said
residents gradually residents warmed to the idea.