In this case, yes, Zé says he is the nephew of the samba musician and finds a suitcase full of compositions of the great-uncle and sells, but after that, a guy accuses his uncle of stealing the compositions, that is, he could only be a relative himself.
Cousin Zeco, a footballer, from "Em Busca do Caneco", story of Ivan Saidenberg for the 1982 World Cup, Zé says that Zeco is his cousin in fourteenth degree on the part of Great-Grandfather. Based in Zico.
Text: Analisando arvore genealógica da família Zé. Descobrimos que o mais antigo do que se noticia morava no Paraíso e tinha
de vigiar manter Eva das frutas. Resultado, cochilou no emprego, de no que deu --- foi expulso do Paraíso por justa causa, sem direito a férias e indenização. De lá pra cá, nessa árvore, só deu galho.
Translate:
Analyzing the family tree of the Zé family.
We discovered that the oldest of what was reported lived in Paradise and had of keeping Eva from the fruits. As a result, he fell asleep at his job, at what he gave --- he was expelled from Paradise for cause, without the right to vacation and compensation.
Text: Analisando arvore genealógica da família Zé. Descobrimos que o mais antigo do que se noticia morava no Paraíso e tinha
de vigiar manter Eva das frutas. Resultado, cochilou no emprego, de no que deu --- foi expulso do Paraíso por justa causa, sem direito a férias e indenização. De lá pra cá, nessa árvore, só deu galho.
Translate:
Analyzing the family tree of the Zé family.
We discovered that the oldest of what was reported lived in Paradise and had of keeping Eva from the fruits. As a result, he fell asleep at his job, at what he gave --- he was expelled from Paradise for cause, without the right to vacation and compensation.
Zé Halley, is not described as a relative, but a version of Zé of the 50s, a rock and roll/rockabilly singer, with a name inspired by Bill Halley, but also reminiscent of Elvis Presley.
I was unaware people refer to the character as Ze in other countries. In America his name is Jose. I was also unaware of what a cultural phenomanon he was in other countries. I'm glad to see he has even gotten his own comic series. I really wish us Americans were as passionate about these characters.