She grew up in a rich entrepreneurial family, she began assisting in her parents' shop and her grandmother's market stall at a young age.
After graduating from Arellano High School, she worked as a shop girl at the Ramos Goodwill Book Store.
Socorro's brother Manuel married one of the daughters of the Ramos family, leading to the opening of a new bookshop on Escolta Street in 1940, located on the ground floor of Panciteria National.
During the Japanese occupation, many of the American books were hidden and the couple mainly sold office supplies, soap, and flip flops.
Unfortunately, three years later, disaster struck again when a typhoon again destroyed the rebuilt store at its new Rizal Avenue location.