Sin disfraz

The song *Sin disfraz* by Virus, written by Federico José Moura and Roberto Enrique Jacoby, was conceived at a particular moment. After a conversation with a director from the record label CBS while renewing the contract to record the album *Locura* in 1985, where Federico Moura was asked to hide his sexual orientation, he responded firmly. Upon returning home, the experience prompted him to compose this piece. The lyrics, with a detailed narrative that evokes almost cinematic images, address the figure of a taxiboy, a male sexual escort hired on demand. A space of transgression is described, a place "where evil reigns," to which the narrator accesses without pretense, "without disguise." The scene is completed with elements such as a taxi, a specific hotel in Buenos Aires — the Savoy, on Avenida Callao, a site with a history of parties and dissidence — and a sense of time dissolution, where usual identity fades away.

The return to normality the next day is presented lightly: "today I dress demodé and normal," accepting the everyday appearance without concern for seeming vulgar, as authenticity has been experienced. Despite the depth of its content, *Sin disfraz* became a massive hit. For a large part of the public, the song was a catchy melody with a glamorous love story, without grasping the direct reference to Federico Moura's sexual orientation or the discussion that inspired it. However, for others, like the taxiboys of Buenos Aires, the song resonated as a professional anthem, as co-author Jacoby recounted. The album *Locura*, released in 1985, of which *Sin disfraz* is a part, is considered Virus's most sophisticated and thematically sexual, and was their most successful in sales, exceeding 200,000 copies in Argentina. This work consolidated Virus as part of the musical scene conquering America, accompanying bands like Soda Stereo and Enanitos Verdes. The album *Locura* was later recognized, ranking 158th on the list of the 250 best albums of rock in Ibero-America by Al Borde magazine in 2006. The duration of *Sin disfraz* is 5:33.