At a bar table, old samba singer and composer Adoniran Barbosa tells a young waiter stories about a São Paulo that no longer exists. He fondly remembers the maloca where he lived with Joca and Mato Grosso, their passion for Iracema and other characters eternalized in his sambas, chronicles of a metropolis swallowed up by the voracious appetite of progress.

The film is based on lyrics from the very famous Brazilian samba composer Adoniran Barbosa, following the aesthetics of his time. Notable facts and characters of his songs takes us through the story, a portrait of São Paulo city in the 50's, a place full of music, love stories and gentrification (poor people getting evicted from their places in order to build great buildings), subjects often explored in Adoniran's work, always with a good touch of humor. This way he became the 'poor people poet'.

Adoniran Barbosa bears the title of São Paulo's greatest samba singer of all time. Through the artist's personal collection, rare archive images and testimonials from friends and family, discover a multifaceted character who portrayed his São Paulo in songs and radio characters. Having the city as an auxiliary, the documentary draws a parallel between today's metropolis and the one lived by Adoniran.