Manuel Cargaleiro was born in Portugal in 1927. He studied in Lisbon, where he attended the Escola Superior de Belas Artes [School of Fine Arts].
The 1954 exhibition at the Galeria de Março in Lisbon represents a milestone for recognition of his work in the world of arts. In the same year he was awarded with the Prémio Sebastião de Almeida.

In 1955 he received an Honorary Diploma from the International Academy of Ceramics, in Cannes. During the following decades, he participated in several individual and collective exhibitions all over the world. The President of the Portugal awarded him the insignia of Comendador de Santiago de Espada in 1982. In 1984, the French government awarded him the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and, four years later, he was awarded the Grande Cruz da Ordem de Mérito by the President of Portugal. In 1990, he created the Fundação Manuel Cargaleiro, currently based in Castelo Branco, which he donated a large number of his works to and which opened a museum in 2005.