Carlos Salazar Herrera (1906–1982) was born in San José, Costa Rica, where he attended primary and secondary school. At the age of 14, he received his first award for an essay entitled "El café". In 1928 he participated in a contest in which he presented his work about renewing Costa Rican art, and in the same year, he received the second place award for his story "La Piedra de Toxil" in a literary contest organized. In 1930 he started working at the American Repertory where he published around 20 short stories. In 1934 he began doing wood etchings on caboa and other kinds of wood. In 1935 he got another reward due to the sculpture he made(el motivo or the motive).