lit a candle 3h ago"Vamos falar de coisa boa?" lives rent free in my head and I don't even speak Portuguese. 56. RIP to a man who understood the assignment of selling a camera like it was a yacht.
Their story
Juarez Aparecido Pontes Fernandes, known across Brazil as Juarez Pontes and, above all, as "Juarez da Tekpix", was the salesman turned television pitchman whose catchphrase "Vamos falar de coisa boa?" ("Shall we talk about something good?") became one of the most recognisable lines in Brazilian broadcasting in the 2000s. He…
Juarez Aparecido Pontes Fernandes, known across Brazil as Juarez Pontes and, above all, as "Juarez da Tekpix", was the salesman turned television pitchman whose catchphrase "Vamos falar de coisa boa?" ("Shall we talk about something good?") became one of the most recognisable lines in Brazilian broadcasting in the 2000s. He was found dead at his home in the Santo Amaro district of the south zone of São Paulo in October 2026, aged 56. His family confirmed the death on 9 October 2026; the cause was not officially disclosed.
Juarez did not set out to be on camera. Around 2001 he worked in a telephone sales centre belonging to the group that would later own Tecnomania, the company behind the Tekpix line of digital cameras and camcorders. In interviews on Agora É Tarde and The Noite com Danilo Gentili he described himself as the most hyperactive person in the call centre and its constant sales leader, putting his results down to "focus". The head of the group called him into his office and asked him to sell the Tekpix on television.
The decision turned a call centre employee into a national face. For more than 12 years Juarez fronted the Tekpix testimonial advertisements broadcast inside popular variety and afternoon programmes on channels including Record, RedeTV! and SBT. His fast, energetic delivery, his demonstrations of the camera's many functions and his relentless repetition of the offer made the slots impossible to miss. Folha de S.Paulo reported that between 2005 and 2006 he was the figure with the most appearances on Brazilian free to air television, with close to 500 insertions a year. Beyond "Vamos falar de coisa boa? Vamos falar de Tekpix", lines such as "Não precisa nem colocar a mão no bolso" ("You don't even need to put your hand in your pocket") and "Ainda não acredito que você tem filmadora" passed into everyday Brazilian speech. The advertisements promised every buyer a "surprise gift", and he later joked that even he never knew what it would be.
Tekpix was marketed as "the best selling camera in Brazil", a claim technology writers noted was never proven, and the products were criticised by sites such as TecMundo and TechTudo for high prices and modest quality. Juarez told Danilo Gentili that at the brand's peak more than 1,300 units were sold in a single day, with demand strongest in Brazil's interior. The cameras were discontinued in the early 2010s (sources give 2013 or 2014) as smartphones with cameras made stand alone devices less attractive, a shift he acknowledged himself.
Long after the advertisements ended, the internet kept Juarez da Tekpix alive. Clips of his pitches circulated as memes, and he embraced the nickname. In a 2019 appearance on The Noite he said he could sell helicopters, yachts or mansions and would still be Juarez da Tekpix, calling it "the greatest pride of my life" and saying he wanted to die known that way. He gave interviews to YouTube channels and podcasts, worked at events and in advertising, and shared memories of his career and encounters with television personalities on Instagram.
At the start of 2024 he joined RedeTV!, where he worked on the Palpite do Milhão segment and on merchandising inside Sonia Abrão's afternoon programme A Tarde É Sua. In January 2025 the broadcaster removed him from his duties after colleagues filed a collective complaint accusing him of sexually harassing a young employee of one of the snack bars at the station's headquarters shortly before Christmas 2024. RedeTV! said the case was handled confidentially by its compliance department. Juarez did not respond publicly to the reports, and the final outcome of the complaint was not made public.
In his last years he lived alone in Santo Amaro, where neighbours knew him for walking around the area and chatting with residents. People close to him told the site TV Pop that he had been struggling with depression since leaving RedeTV!. After friends noticed he had not been seen for three days, they went to his house, entered when no one answered at the gate, and found him dead. Reports differ on the day: UOL and g1 placed it on Thursday 8 October 2026, while other outlets reported he was found on Friday 9 October. His body was taken to the IML (Instituto Médico Legal) for examination, and identification required fingerprints because his documents could not be located. His burial was scheduled for Saturday 10 October 2026 at the Cemitério de Santo Amaro, with a brief half hour farewell in the chapel.
The news was announced on air by Sonia Abrão and shared by his cousin Eloana Pontes in a family statement that said his path "was marked by perseverance, creativity and determination" and that, with his unique style, he won his place on television and turned a catchphrase into his trademark. He is survived by a son, according to g1. Tributes from Sonia Abrão, TV Fama host Flávia Noronha and thousands of viewers who grew up with his advertisements recalled a man who, for a generation of Brazilians, was the voice of the commercial break.
Biography adapted from UOL Splash, g1, Estadão, Folha de S.Paulo (F5), Exame, Hugo Gloss, CARAS Brasil, TV Pop, Metrópoles, SBT (The Noite), Wikipedia (pt: Tekpix).
In their own words
“Vamos falar de coisa boa? Vamos falar de Tekpix.”
His signature opening line in Tekpix TV advertisements ("Shall we talk about something good? Let's talk about Tekpix").
“Não precisa nem colocar a mão no bolso.”
Tekpix advertising catchphrase ("You don't even need to put your hand in your pocket").
“Eu posso vender helicóptero, iate, mansão, que eu vou ser o Juarez da Tekpix, que é o maior orgulho da minha vida. Sempre! Sou conhecido assim, quero morrer sendo conhecido dessa forma.”
To Danilo Gentili on The Noite, 2019, as quoted by UOL Splash.
“Até hoje eu não sei qual era o brinde, mas cada vez era um brinde surpresa diferente.”
On the Tekpix surprise gift, The Noite, September 2019 (SBT).
“Sua trajetória foi marcada pela perseverança, criatividade e determinação.”
Family statement shared by cousin Eloana Pontes, October 2026.
Photos
2Juarez Pontes on The Noite com Danilo Gentili
by People Forever
Juarez Pontes in a TV interview and in a Tecnomania Tekpix advertisement
by People Forever
it's one of those phrases that just sticks, even in translation