}} Argentine singer
Sandra Mihanovich recorded a famous Spanish-language version of the song titled "Soy lo que soy", included in her 1984
studio album of the same name. The singer discovered the song when she attended a
gay nightclub in
Rio de Janeiro with her producer Claudio Kleiman, where she saw a
drag queen performing to Gloria Gaynor's version. Shams was one of the main venues of new wave of musical acts that performed in a circuit of small bars and pubs centered in
Buenos Aires. Now regarded as a
classic of Argentine popular music, "Soy lo que soy" was a big commercial success and consolidated Mihanovich's rising career, becoming one of her signature songs. It became an important
gay anthem for the
LGBT community in Argentina, which was experiencing a moment of cultural and activist boom after the end of the
military dictatorship in 1983. Mihanovich already had another gay anthem in her repertoire, her 1981 breakthrough single "
Puerto Pollensa", a love song between women that continues to be celebrated by the local
lesbian community to this day. Mihanovich was a lesbian, although not openly, a topic that caused much speculation in the media and increased when she formed a musical duo with her partner
Celeste Carballo in the late 1980s. Although she became a
gay icon, Mihanovich refused to talk about her sexuality with the media and never adopted an activist stance. Mihanovich never publicly acknowledged her homosexuality until 2012, when she announced that she had formed a family with another woman. In a 2020 television interview, she said: "I'm not as brave as you think I am. I was finding what I wanted to say in my songs. The discovery of "Soy lo que soy" was a huge thing. Today it is a privilege to think and say what I want and that my way of being is respected." "Soy lo que soy" continues to be celebrated as a national gay anthem, and is played each year at the end of the
Buenos Aires pride march. Writing for
Página/12 in 2009,
lesbian feminist Marta Dillon described the song as the "most beloved anthem for the local
queer community". ==2012 Paralympics==