- Born
- Died
- Nickname
- Pixote
- Fernando was the star of only one film in his short life. He played Pixote - a street child - in Pixote (1980). During his short period of fame, Fernando was seen as a symbol of hope for the Brazilian street kids. He grew up in a poor neighborhood of Diadema - a industrial city close to São Paulo - Brazil. Illiterate and poor, Fernando played Pixote at the age of 11 years old. His only previous experience in acting was an amateur play. After the success of Pixote, Fernando moved briefly to Rio de Janeiro. There, he tried his luck as an actor in a "novela" (Brazilian soap opera). The fame was brief, without literacy, he could not memorize the scripts. He ended up returning to Diadema. There, he had the same fate as many like him. He got involved with gangs and drug dealing. At age 19, he was killed inside his house by the police. The circumstances of his death are are still a mystery. Three of Fernando's brothers were also killed in the streets of the Brazilian inner cities. Fernando is survived by a daughter. Although he never lived in the streets and always had a family, he stands as a symbol of the Brazlian street children, until this date.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Manoel Mendonca <manoel@cs.umd.edu>
- The album "Tender Prey," by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, was dedicated to him.
- Was involved with street crime before and after the movie, and killed by cops that invaded his house.
- His wife Cida Venâncio claimed that he was executed by cops. Forensic investigation supported her claim.
- Was cast as Pingo in Globo TV's O Amor É Nosso (1981) with author José Louzeiro's help. However, he was only semi literate and thus, unable to fully learn his lines. The network ended up not giving him other roles.
- Pursued an acting career with roles on film and TV, before falling into crime once again.
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