Palacios was born in San Justo, a western suburb of Buenos Aires, into a humble family.

His first career was as a painter, but, because the government denied him a grant to travel to Europe, he changed direction and dedicated himself to writing and teaching.

After meeting former President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in 1884, he was dismissed as school director for not possessing a teaching degree, though this was arguably because his poems were highly critical of the government[citation needed].

He was, however, elected to the Buenos Aires Province Chamber of Deputies, and later worked as a librarian and translator for the Provincial Statistical Bureau.

However, his health had deteriorated, and he died on 28 February 1917 in La Plata, capital of the Province of Buenos Aires, at the age of 63.