Obdulio, an 11-year-old Afro-Uruguayan boy from the streets, can neither read nor write. He lives with his grandmother and supports them both by selling newspapers. One evening, he discovers that the night watchman at the newspaper is a magical “Maestro,” who introduces the boy to the power of literacy and the meaning of life. Against the backdrop of Uruguay’s provocatively stimulating carnival, the Maestro teaches Obdulio about life through the lyrics of the “Murgas,” the songs of the carnival. In the tradition of magic realism, director Leonardo Ricagni uses the carnival atmosphere to transport viewers to an enchanted time and place where reality and dreams collide.
