Mambembe is Chico Buarque's colorful ode to the artista de rua, the traveling performer who turns every corner into a stage. From “o palco, a praça, o circo” to a simple garden bench, the narrator promises: Você vai saber de mim (you will hear about me). Buarque strings together a vibrant cast of society's outsiders:
The refrain Mambembe, cigano... cantando! shows music flowing in every direction: under bridges, beneath the earth, right in the people's mouths. Instead of waiting for permission, the wanderer proudly claims, "esse mundo é todo meu"—this world is all mine. The track feels like a portable carnival, reminding listeners that freedom is not a fixed address; it is the courage to keep singing wherever life carries you.