His mother was a slave. João is the first generation of artists in his family. In 1909, he owned Circo Guarany and toured throughout the country presenting circus acts, melodramas, comedies and rural music duos. He used to rent a train in order to transport his artists, equipments and animals. João married the Uruguayan Brígida Echeverria. They had a daughter who became a clown named Xamego. The circus was sold in 1954, when he died.