Rio de Janeiro: the carioca way of life and worship of the body encourage eroticism as well as an increasing cult of youth. It’s the city of miscegenation – encounters between Portuguese conquerors, Indian native populations, African slaves, European immigrants…The popular culture of samba and carnival is mythically embodied by the mulata.

The film is loosely inspired by Izabel Jaguaribe’s book “The Guide-Map of the Marvellous in Rio de Janeira” and draws the “erotic profile” of a city that is tattooed on its inhabitant’s bodies. The film’s director, Izabel Jaguaribe, is one of the most innovative and lively scholars of contemporary Brazilian culture. Her cultural maps of urban Brazil are designed to foment critical debate about estrangement, belonging and diversity.