Actor, playwright Zé Celso dies aged 86 in São Paulo

Actor and playwright José Celso Martinez Corrêa, known as Zé Celso, died this Thursday morning (Jul. 6).

He was 86 years old and had been admitted to the ICU of São Paulo’s Hospital das Clínicas Tuesday (4) after a fire hit the apartment where he lived. The founder of Teatro Oficina had 53 percent of his body burned and inhaled a large amount of smoke.

On its social media, Teatro Oficina Uzyna Uzona confirmed Zé Celso’s death with the quote “Things come on and off the beat. Time is eternal. I am time in its victorious form.” “Our phoenix has taken its departure toward its dwelling on the Sun,” the note reads.

One of Brazil’s longest-living theater companies, Teatro Oficina Uzyna Uzona was founded by Zé Celso in 1958 and has also been politically active. Since 1961, the group has occupied a building listed as heritage site in the Bixiga district of downtown São Paulo.

“Our phoenix has taken its departure toward its dwelling on the Sun,” the note of Teatro Oficina Uzyna Uzona reads – Akemi Nitahara/Agência Brasil