She is the daughter of the artist and circus businessman João Alves and of the Uruguayan Brígida Echeverria. She studied junior highschool in the circus with a private teacher. It was by chance that she became a clown, performing as a man when women did not played the role on circusring. As the clown "Xamego" she acted in comedies together with her father. The audience never realized that "he" was "she", laughing a lot with her tricks. In 1942, Maria Elisa married Eurico in São Paulo. They had nine children, only two survived:  the guitar player Aristeu Alves dos Reis, who joined the band of the Brazilian pop singer Roberto Carlos for more than 20 years, and the journalist Daise Alves dos Reis Gabriel, who is the mother of the film maker Mariana Gabriel.