Storyteller, playwright, poet and journalist, Arthur Nabantino Gonçalves de Azevedo was born in São Luís, Maranhão, on 7 July 1855, to David Gonçalves de Azevedo, vice-consul of Portugal in São Luís, and EmiliaAmália Pinto de Magalhães.

On 8 October 1863 in São Luís, Maranhão, Catullo da Paixão Cearense was born. His parents were Maria Celestina Braga da Paixão and Amâncio José da Paixão Cearense, a goldsmith. Catullo had two brothers: Gil and Gerson. When he was ten, his family moved to the semi-arid region of Ceará.