Monkey trainer. He attended elementary school near his house. When he was eleven, he ran away from home and found a circus in Praça da Bandeira (Bandeira Square) in Aracaju, the capital of Sergipe. There he met an elephant and chimpanzee trainer who taught him about how to handle animals. In 1967 Zé das Gatas made his debut at Circo Garcia, where he worked for more than three decades as a tamer and also performed as a clown with Picolino (Roger Avanzi) and Pinguim.