Mauricio Araújo de Sousa was born in Santa Isabel on October 27, 1935. His father, Antonio Mauricio de Sousa, is a poet and his mother, Petronilha Araújo de Sousa, also delved into poetry. Mauricio developed an interest in cartooning at a young age, and began to draw posters and illustrations for periodicals. At 17 years of age, he worked for a daily newspaper called Folha da Manhã as a crime reporter. In 1959, Sousa quit that job and began his comic book career, and created "Turma da Mônica" (Monica's Gang).