He was born in Cerro Largo, Uruguay, the fourth of thirteen children of Brazilians Francisco Saraiva and Pulpicia da Rosa (his surname was later Hispanicized to "Saravia").

At his father's death, the Saravia brothers inherited a vast estate, Estancia El Cordobés, in the department of Cerro Largo, on the frontier with the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul.

Gumercindo Saraiva, Aparicio Saravia’s older brother, played a large role in the federalist revolution in Rio Grande do Sul.

Though the revolution began to fail by 1895, Aparacio Saravia not only earned the rank of General but also great prestige, as the newspapers in Montevideo had been covering his exploits.

He served as a de facto, second leader of the country, with José Batlle y Ordóñez heading the government at Montevideo, and Saravia leading revolutionary forces in the countryside.

He was shot in the abdomen with a Mauser bullet; his companions managed to take him across the frontier to Brazil, to a ranch named Carovi near Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul.

He was buried at the burial vault of the Brazilian family of Pereira da Souza but in 1921 his remains were moved by Luis Alberto de Herrera to the cemetery of Buceo in Montevideo.