Zeca Camargo

José Carlos Brito de Ávila Camargo (8 April 1963), better known as Zeca Camargo, is a Brazilian television presenter, journalist and writer. He has a column in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.

Biography

Early years and education Zeca Camargo was born in the city of Uberaba, in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais. The son of doctor Faul Camargo and artisan Maria Inez, during his early childhood he lived in the city of Rio de Janeiro and in the cities of Araçatuba and Barretos, both in the interior of the state of São Paulo, until he moved to the capital as a teenager. He's the nephew of the poet , member of poesia marginal.

He graduated in Business Administration from the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) and in Advertising from the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM). Although he graduated, he never practiced his profession and began his career as a dance teacher, having had Marisa Orth, Giulia Gam and Ruth Cardoso as students. After working on a few editorials at the newspaper, he became the paper's correspondent in New York for a year. When he returned to Brazil, he began working as editor-in-chief of journalism of MTV and helped implement it. He worked as a VJ presenting MTV no Ar, a program with reports and interviews about the musical universe.

After four years he left the music station and moved to TV Cultura, where he presented the program , as well as becoming a columnist for the teen magazine published by Editora Abril. He stayed between Capricho and Folha de S. Paulo until 1996. In the program he did the series of reports "Aqui se Fala Português", and "A Fantástica Volta ao Mundo", the first series of reports to be generated entirely on the internet and not by satellite in the country. In 2000, he hosted the program No Limite, the Brazilian version of Survivor. He presented three seasons of the reality show, leaving the program after the last season in 2001. He also presented the first season of the reality show Hipertensão.

In 2008, he became a permanent presenter of the Fantástico program. Between 2006 and 2017 he kept a blog on G1, Rede Globo's online portal. Alongside presenter , she promoted a change in lifestyle. By the end of the season, she had lost 5 kilos. He continued to present the program until 2013.

Invited by director , he became a presenter on the variety program Vídeo Show. The program underwent changes in format, which did not please the public. The Video Show already had ratings problems before Zeca joined the show. In April 2015, he was replaced by actress Monica Iozzi. In May 2020, after 24 years working at TV Globo, he left the station.

On 3 July 2020, he was hired by TV Band in a bid to do double duty: as a presenter and also as the executive production director of his new station. He has presented a number of programs on the station, such as Band Folia, Zeca pelo Brasil and 1001 perguntas. Alongside Glenda Kozlowski, he presented the auditorium program . In July 2024, he left the station and gave up presenting Melhor da Noite.

In October 2024, he was hired by Times Brasil, a Brazilian broadcaster that is part of the CNBC network. At the broadcaster he hosts the travel program Passaporte.

Comment on Cristiano Araújo In 2015, during the national commotion over the death of country singer Cristiano Araújo, Zeca made a chronicle; the comment was made on the evening of 28 June 2015, four days after the accident, during for GloboNews. Zeca said that "from one hour to the next, fans and people who had no idea who the sertanejo artist was went into a collective embrace" and that "many people were surprised by the sudden commotion at the singer's tragic death. The surprise, however, is not due to the fact that he was so famous and so unknown at the same time". The comments generated controversy on the Internet and fans created pages and memes to criticize the journalist, even other singers from the country music scene published photos with their hands pressed to their ears, showing their rejection of the comment. When he apologized during the Video Show, he made another gaffe by calling the singer by the name of the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Due to the chronicle, Zeca had to pay compensation to Cristiano's family, with the lawsuit drawn up by the artist's father João Reis de Araújo.

Filmography Year Title RoleStation Notes 1990–92 HostMTV Brasil MTV no Ar 1994 TV Cultura 1996–07 Fantástico ReporterTV Globo 2007–13 Host 1997 1998–2001 2000–09 No Limite 2002 Hipertensão 2003 O Jogo 2013–15 Vídeo Show 2015–20 2017 Os Dias Eram Assim Host of the festival Episodes: "September 4–15" 2020 Amor de Mãe Himself Episode: "February 5" 2021 Música na Band HostTV Band 2021–22 Zeca pelo Brasil 2022–23 1001 Perguntas 2023–24 Band Folia: Salvador Carnival 2023 Papo com Sabor 2023–24 2024–present PassaporteTimes Brasil

Books

A fantástica volta ao mundo: registros e bastidores de viagem. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2004. De A-ha a U2 : os bastidores das entrevistas do mundo da música. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2006. 1.000 Lugares Fantásticos no Brasil. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2006. Novos Olhares. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2007. Isso aqui é seu: a volta ao mundo por patrimônios da humanidade. São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2009. Medida certa: como chegamos lá (with ). São Paulo: Editora Globo, 2011. Eu ando pelo mundo: Paris. E-galáxia, 2016. 50, eu?. E-galáxia, 2018. Elza. São Paulo: Leya, 2018. Índia: sabores e sensações: uma viagem que explora as receitas vegetarianas do país (with . São Paulo: )Companhia de Mesa, 2019. Quase normal: contos. São Paulo: , 2020