Arquivo / 49ª mostra

In São Paulo, 15 women of African descent talk about their lives. In day-to-day life, they are manicures, housemaids, secretaries, hairdressers, cooks, and teachers, all of them battling for survival. In the São Paulo samba schools, however, they are queens and, in the ritual grounds of the candomblé, they incorporate gods. The film delves into their lives and concomitantly follows along with preparations for the Camisa Verde e Branco escola de samba parade. Often portrayed in the media as sexual objects - symbolized by the person of a mulatta - these women sing, they dance, provocative, and compete for their space in the world. Fantasy is mixed with reality in such a way that carnival is not restricted to one week in the month of February, but is a permanent state of mind, pervading a routine with creativity and optimism.