[1][2] Gonçalves was born in the city of Mindelo, the capital of the island of São Vicente.

He was a critic in many different areas, book prefaces, literary seminaries of the Professor's Course Formation of the Secondary School, articles and reviews with Ponto & Vírgula, a Portuguese word for "semicolon".

He published several works and wrote for the major Cape Verdean review Claridade and the story O enterro de nha candinha Sena (1957).

[3] Gonçalves died on 30 September 1984 as the result of a hit-and-run accident five days after his 83rd birthday.

A street (Rua Dr. António Aurélio Gonçalves) is named after him in his hometown Mindelo, and to the west is a park that is known by his nickname (Parque Nhô Roque),[5] located by Avenida Marginal and Porto Grande Bay.