[1][2] A native of San Roque, Cádiz, his father was a potter, who influenced him from quite a young age with clay figures.

His parents were shot during the Spanish Civil War, and in 1940 he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the offense of aiding the rebellion.

In 1952 he received the Primer Premio Nacional de Escultura (National Award for Sculpture) for "La Piedad" ("Piety").

[4] In 1955 he moved to Madrid as a master sculptor of the Talleres Arte de Granada, later opening his own workshop in the capital.

There is a museum dedicated to his work in his home town[5] and his local parish church features his Most Holy Christ of the Happy Death.