Born on 15 January 1924, in Santana, Madeira, Portugal, son of João Gomes Garanito and Virginia Fernandes de Jesus. In 1949 he emigrated to Rio de Janeiro and in 1951 to São Paulo, having landed at the port of Santos on 26.01.1950 aboard the steamship "Serpa Pinto".
He was a farmer and merchant, but above all a builder and inventor. While still on Madeira he had built a winch for boats. In 1956 he built a raft on the Pirapó River, in the district of Vila Silva Jardim, between the municipalities of Colorado and Paranacity, for crossing vehicles and livestock. In 1959 he modernised the crossing, building a wooden suspension bridge at his own expense. In the late 1960s he moved with his family to Paranaguá, where he built the Hotel Santana. He spent much of his life on his farm on the Guaraguaçu River, where he also built a large boat named Santana.
He died on 11 November 1994, aged 70, in Paranaguá, Paraná.