From the slow waitings for opening of the big top to the loneliness in the dressing room backstage, Abuhadba follows the life of a small circus in Chile run entirely by a traditional circus family.

Ruy, a solitary surveyor, travels the harsh Pernambuco. His life is transformed when he meets three women from a mambembe circus, Madrinha, Jéssica and Diadorim. Through the history of these four characters, "Mambembe" deals with chance while reflecting on artistic construction.