The film focuses on a contemporary documentary production company that is attempting to create a non-fiction feature about Papa Montero, a 1930's rumbero who was murdered during Havana's carnival celebrations. The film uses flashback sequences to recreate Papa Montero's celebrated dance and his disastrous involvement in a fatal love triangle. The film features rumba-inspired dance sequences performed in the streets of Havana by El Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba.