Career
At 17 he got his first job presenting a musical program at Pernambuco"s Radio club In 1940, he arrived in Rio de Janeiro, "with four changes of clothing and five quid in the pocket", to work as a sports commentator for Radio Ipanema. By 1948, he was back in Rio.
Antônio Maria wrote daily features for more than 15 years - a daily account of what was going on in Rio de Janeiro.
Up until 1955, his by-line appeared on "Long is The Night - A Noite É Grande", the "Antônio Maria Report - Jornal de Antônio Maria" and "Copacabana Cop"s Story - Romance Policial de Copacabana". In his Cop"s Story column, Antônio Maria would frequently interview the protagonists of the moment, right in the police stations and on the streets of Copacabana or in the middle of the night.
Author of advertising jingles, he ended up writing popular music lyrics. Antônio Maria lived his life to the full, both in Rio and in Pernambuco.
His great friend, Vinicius de Moraes, fondly called him "Pernambaioca" (a mixture of Pernambucano - a native of Northeastern Brazil, and Carioca - a native of Rio de Janeiro).
He was the victim of a sudden, massive heart attack, outside the doors of a Copacabana restaurant at the age of 43.