Mangue Beat, a musical and aesthetic movement which emerged in Pernambuco in the 1990s, transformed the visibility of the peripheries and cultural manifestations of the metropolitan area of Recife and placed the state on the map of the world music market with the launching of bands like Chico Science and Nação Zumbi and Mundo Livre S.A. The film experiments with the freedomn of thought of the Mangue using a plural language, which brings togther ideias and ideals, refleting the daring which resulted in the great symbol of the movement: a satellite dish planted in the mud of the estuaries - the Mangue.

Records the sights and sounds of the many extraordinary street musicians from the Northeast of Brazil whose music and lyrics tell the stories of their lives with improvised humor, drama and colorful vulgarisms.

Born in Arcoverde, in the backlands of Pernambuco, the lonely boy who was raised by his father after his mother left, João Silva soon discovered a passion for the northeastern rhythms, such as the baião, xote and forró. He went to Rio de Janeiro when he was still a little boy to meet the idol Luiz Gonzaga. Both men, who were not very fond of each other when they first met, became not only great friends but also partners in many hits like “Doutor do Baião”, “Nem se Despediu de Mim” and “Pagode Russo”.

Filmmakers Cláudio Assis and Lírio Ferreira go on a journey through the frontier between the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba, Brazil, to show the importance poetry holds in local culture.