His parents married on 1 January 1949 and were part of the Communist-led resistance against the fascist regime in Portugal. Their home in Lisbon was used as a safe house for the secret meetings of prominent Communist party leaders, but following a string of political arrests, the family moved to colonial Angola initially settling in Silva Porto before moving to Luanda. His father was the headmaster of Luanda's Industrial and Commercial School, the co-founder of the "Cine-club de Luanda", an important film society, and a member of the executive board of the "Angola Cultural Society". Carvalheiro's parents, although prominent members of Portuguese colonial society, moved in Luanda's cultural and literary circle encouraging the work of native writers and poets and supporting Angolan cultural identity and independence movements at the highest level. Consequently, Carvalheiro grew up in a politically charged and cultural environment where he enjoyed more freedom than in mainland Portugal.