Arosemena was born in Panama City, the son of Dolores de Quesada and Mariano Arosemena, a national hero during the independence of Panama from Spain in 1821. He attended elementary school in Panama, and when he was 16 years old, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the College of San Bartolomé in Bogotá. Later, he graduated in law at the Universidad Central de Bogota. Between 1837 and 1839 he received his doctorate in law at the Universidad del Magdalena. He also conducted studies in the field of sociology.