Born a fully grown black man in a village in the Brazilian jungle, Macunaima (Grande Otelo) later magically transforms into a white man (Paulo José) before making an adventure-filled trip to the city of Sao Paulo. Once there, he becomes something of a dandy, falling in love with Ci (Dina Sfat), a revolutionary who dies in an accidental bombing. After robbing a ruthless industrialist, Macunaima returns to his village where he finds his newly acquired knowledge and possessions of little use.