[1][2] Born in the Pateros district of Manila on 9 June 1867, she was the daughter of Venancio Mendoza and Evarista Gotianquin.
From an early age, she became interested in art, sketching landscapes, embroidering handkerchiefs and modelling figures of people and animals.Pelagia Mendoza y Gotianquin (1867–1939) was the first female sculptor in the Philippines and was the first female student at the Escuela de Dibujo y Pintura (Drawing and Painting School).
Pelagia, when 22, was the first woman admitted to the art school Escuela de Dibujo y Pintura.
In addition to painting and sculpture, she also took an interest in embroidery, decorating handkerchiefs and furniture covers.
[3] In 1892, Pelagia married the silversmith Crispulo Zamora (1871–1922), a fellow student, with whom she had seven children.