[3] Through her father, she was related to the political and military figure Pedro "Perico" Pepín, right hand man of President Ulises Heureaux.

[4] In 1891, when Pepín was five years old, her mother died and her father's involvement in the Dominican political struggles of the late 19th century between conservatives and liberals led her to live with her grandmother Carlota Alvarez in the village of Marilópez, on the outskirts of San- tiago.

Her family was prominent in the political circles of the country, which led to Pepín received basic lessons in social studies, math, French, physics and other disciplines.

[5] In 1900, at the young age of 14, Pepín formally began her career as a teacher in a school for girls in the Santiago neighbourhood of Nibaje.

[4][3] Pepín adopted the system taught by the educator Eugenio María de Hostos, which at that time was beginning to spread throughout the country.

She demanded that Americans sing the National Anthem and fly the Dominican flag, extending these customs to all citizens, regardless of sex or age.

[4] Pepín was one of the founders and leaders of the Junta Patriótica de Damas, (Patriotic League of Ladies) alongside other feminist writers, Floripez Mieses, Abigail Mejía, Luisa Ozema Pellerano, created on March 15, 1920.

[6] Pepín drafted a letter protesting the occupation of the Dominican Republic which was signed by hundreds of women before being sent to the U.S. Senate Committee studying the situation on the island.

[3] In 1928 Pepín founded Acción Cultural Feminista with Delia Weber and Abigail Mejia to promote education as a tool of liberation for all women.

[6] Members of the Junta Patriótica de Damas, alongside some of Pepín’s students at the Colegio de Señoritas “México” embroidered a replica of the Nicaraguan flag and sent it to Augusto César Sandino, on May 15, 1928, accompanied by a letter from Pepín explaining their support of his campaign against the United States occupation of Nicaragua that lasted from 1912 to 1933.

[6] When the intervening troops withdrew on 24 July 1924, she led the ceremony organised by country's authorities for the raising of the national flag at the Fortress of San Luis.