He was just a little boy when he started to play a small bamboo flute. At age 11, he already worked as practical at the pharmacy, starting to play tarol in the band Lyra de Arion, where almost all the musicians were his relatives.

In 1940, he moved with his family to Niterói, continuing to work in the pharmacy and starting to study music at night, with amateur flutist Joaquim Fernandes. At this time, he started to attend the radio programs of Dante Santoro and Benedito Lacerda and with a secondhand flute, initiated his presentations in programs for beginners, obtaining the first prize in the famous program of Ari Barroso.

He recorded his first disk in 1949, and in 1951 he was invited to the famous Canhoto's Regional in substitution to Benedito Lacerda. In 1955, he founded the "Bandinha do Altamiro" with which he recorded the maxixe "Rio Antigo", a great success.

In the 60's, he started touring, and played in Portugal, Spain, France, England, Germany, Libano, Egypt, the Ussr, Mexico, United States, lsrael and Japan. He has recorded 88 disks in Brazil and 5 in other countries. He received the Sharp Prize for best instrumental recording in 1993 and 1997.

His most recent CDs are "Flauta Maravilhosa" and "Chorinhos Didaticos". Although he is an authentic popular musician, in many occasions he has performed the Mozart flute concerti with Symphony 0rchestras.