He was born at Reus, a town near Taragon in the province of Catalonia in Spain. His father died when he was an infant, his mother by age 12, thus Mariano was raised by his grandfather, a cabinetmaker, raised him. His grandfather taught him to make wax figurines. At the age of 9, at a public competition in his town a local patron, Domingo Soberano, encouraged further study. 