Maceió (Portuguese pronunciation: [masejˈjɔ]) is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state Alagoas, Brazil. The name "maceió" is of Indian origin, and designates the naturally spontaneous courses of water which flow out of the soil. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form lakes ("lagoas", in Portuguese).

There are plenty of maceiós and lakes in this part of Brazil; because of this, the city was named Maceió, and the State, Alagoas. The new Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport connects Maceió with many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights. The city is home to the Federal University of Alagoas.

The city began in an old sugar mill and plantation complex around the 19th century. Its development started with the arrival of ships taking wood from Jaraguá bay.

With the installation of the sugar mills, Maceió started to export sugar, then tobacco, coconut, leather, and some spices. Prosperity made it possible for the settlement to become a village on December 5, 1815. Thanks to its continued growth, Maceió became the capital of the Alagoas Province on December 9, 1839.

Fafá de Belém, born Maria de Fátima Palha de Figueiredo in Belém do Pará on August 9, 1956, is a Brazilian singer considered one of the great female singers of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). She took her stage name from the city of her birth and in addition to a successful recording career that spans over three decades, it is fair to say that she has been one of the great sex symbols of Brazilian pop music. Her husky mezzo-soprano voice is known for its extensive emotional range, from tender ballads, to sensual love songs, to Portuguese fados all the way to energetic sambas and lambadas.

Fafa made her public debut in her hometown in 1973. In the next year, she performed shows with Zé Rodrix in Rio de Janeiro and with Sérgio Ricardo in Belém and Salvador da Bahia. In the same year, she hit the charts with "Filho da Bahia", then recorded for the soundtrack of the TV Globo soap opera "Gabriela"; she also released her first single that year. In 1976, Fafá de Belém recorded her first LP, "Tamba Tajá", which was praised by critics. In 1984, she became the muse of the movement in favor of free elections in Brazil, singing "Menestrel das Alagoas", written by Milton Nascimento and Fernando Brant, before a million people in Rio de Janeiro. In the same period, her highly popular interpretation of the Brazilian National Anthem at mass gatherings got her into trouble with the ruling military regime that was soon replaced by a popularly elected President.

Silvio Santos (real name Senor Abravanel, born on December 12, 1930) is a Brazilian TV show host and entrepreneur. He is the owner of SBT, the third largest television network in the country.

Santos was born in Rio de Janeiro, in the Lapa region. He is of Sephardi Jewish descent and was born to a Turkish mother and a Greek father. Despite his humble beginnings, working as a street vendor, he had a strong affinity for artistic endeavors and took up jobs on the radio, circus and television.

He became the major TV host in Brazil. His greatest achievement was founding SBT in 1981, where he still hosts various programs. His business, Grupo Sílvio Santos (GSS), also owns agribusiness ventures and hotels. He is the single biggest taxpayer natural person in Brazil. Additionally, Santos is known as a benefactor of the Jewish community.

He has influenced Brazilian television in many ways, particularly by producing local versions of popular international formats such as Celebrity Big Brother, Candid Camera, The Biggest Loser, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Deal or No Deal, the RTL Idols franchise, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. He also was the host of Show do Milhão, a game show also broadcast by ITV in England. The show received was later ported to some videogames, as SEGA Mega Drive 3, with the game built-in, manufactured by Brazilian SEGA's distributor Tectoy, and for Microsoft Windows (with his original dubbing).