Through masks and puppets, music and dance, A Saga de Canudos tells the story of the construction and destruction of the city of Canudos in one of the deadliest civil wars Brazil has ever seen. The performance recuperates the political aspects of the 19th Century movement led by Antônio Conselheiro. Plagued by hunger and oppression, thousands of sertanejos gathered around this legendary figure. The land, the herds, the tools, were all collective property, the tasks were distributed according to each one's capacity, and decisions were taken collectively in daily meetings. Their motto, however — "The land has no owner. The land belongs to all" — was considered a direct challenge to landowners, the government, and the church. Official historiography has painted Antônio Conselheiro as a fanatic, but this play presents him as a man conscious of his historical role, a man who fought against slavery and against the monopoly of the land, who challenged the church and the government, and who led the peasants in defeating the National Army several times.