This lively film goes behind the scenes of the samba and carnival world in Rio de Janeiro to reveal how the cultural clash of the African/Black and European/White cultures gave birth to a new tradition. The historian Haroldo Costa, an expert in carioca folklore, explains how African slaves' beliefs, gods and music mixed with Spanish Catholic and Indian influences centuries ago to create the remarkable fusion that is Brazilian culture.The historian Haroldo Costa, an expert in carioca folklore, explains how African slaves' beliefs, gods and music mixed with Spanish Catholic centuries ago to create the remarkable fusion that is Brazilian culture.The film includes interviews with many active performers and writers of samba such as the composer and singer Xango da Mangueira. He recalls the first days of carnival in Rio de Janeiro when he and his fellow performers sang and danced in the streets but were treated like vagrants and harassed by the police. Mae Helena D'Oxosse, a priestess in the umbanda tradition, incorporates samba in her religious practices and carries on a tradition among her working-class followers that is five hundred years old.