Macunaíma, from the Tapanhuma tribe, lives lazily and carefree in the Brazilian jungle. However, when his amulet goes missing, he must leave his tribe and journey to São Paulo, the astonishing metropolis filled with machines. The "hero without any character" finds himself in brothels, military parades, and encounters with the police; he meets witches, guerrilla fighters, and man-eating industrial magnates. Naive as he is, he experiences the absurd customs of his time firsthand. "Macunaíma" is the main work of Brazilian modernism. With this vibrant and richly textured novel, European influences were definitively cast aside in 1928. The lively polyphony and the country's fragmentation are celebrated here for the first time with a resounding voice.