Unauthorized Kindness: the camouflage of the sacred in Geni and Zeppelin by Chico Buarque

The article aims to discuss about the the marks of the sacred camouflaged in the song Geni and the Zeppelin, by Chico Buarque de Hollanda. It denounces the culture that privileges the figure of the protagonist and, on the other hand, highlights the role of invisible and worldly people in Buarquean work. Like so many other songs by Chico Buarque, Geni e Zepelim stands out for exposing us to the vigor that derives from the human capacity to shout, question and rebel. The article explores the concept of camouflage of the sacred, especially as suggested by Mircea Eliade, and proposes it as a lens through which to consider the sacredness of goodness expressed by the song's protagonist. The virtue of goodness, embodied by Geni, appears timidly among the layers of social and religious stereotypes, which is why, due to its profanity, it is usually disregarded by the religion it endorses and authorizes. It starts with the assumption that the profane is the common ground where human beings recognize themselves as such, and where they must return whenever the sacred becomes oppressive, to once again reconstruct the meaning, postulate the sacred liberator.