[1][2][3] in October 1964, Zica married the samba dancer, composer and songwriter, Cartola (Agenor de Oliveira), one of the founders of the Mangueira School.

They had lived together for a decade before marrying and Zica was responsible for persuading Cartola to return to the Mangueira favela, to overcome his alcoholism, and to start composing again.

This quickly became a meeting point for Rio's working class samba performers, as well as middle-class Bossa nova musicians such as Vinicius de Moraes.

Cartola was in charge of the music and provided a space for older samba musicians such as Nelson Cavaquinho, Ismael Silva, Paulinho da Viola and Zé Kéti to perform, while also encouraging the new generation.

The burial took place at the São Francisco Xavier Cemetery, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, to the sound of Exaltação à Mangueira the anthem of the association of which she had been a member since its foundation on 28 April 1928.