Guerrero was born to a highly educated family. His father was the painter and art teacher
Lorenzo Guerrero, who was largely known for mentoring gifted artists like
Juan Luna,
Felix Hidalgo, and
Juan Arellano in the art school
Academia de Dibujo y Pintura. His mother was Clamencia Ramirez. His uncle is the famous
botanist and
pharmacist León María Guerrero, the brother of his father Lorenzo. They belong to the nation's most prominent families. He began writing literature at a young age. He excelled in the facility of language and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the
Ateneo Municipal de Manila and the Bachelor of Laws degree at the
University of Santo Tomas and wrote journals during the years 1898 to 1900. He became a lawyer and he taught
criminology and forensic oratory. He served as chairman of the board of study at the law school La Jurisprudencia (The Jurisprudence). He also became a councilor, secretary of the senate and secretary of the
Philippine Independence commission. He was also a director of the Academia de Leyes (Academy of Regulation). Apart from
Spanish, Guerrero spoke
Tagalog, Latin,
Greek, and English. During the revolution he was recruited by General
Antonio Luna to serve as contributor and editor for the newspaper,
La Independencia, together with
Rafael Palma and
Epifanio de los Santos. During the early years of the American occupation, he would be reunited with Rafael Palma at
El Renacimiento (The Rebirth), a Spanish-language daily. In a few years, he would transition from the position of editor to director. Under Guerrero's leadership as its director,
El Renaciemento would become the most influential and powerful paper in the Philippines—exposing and speaking against the oppression and brutality of the constabulary. After a brief stint in politics he became an editor at
La Vanguardia (The Outer works) and
La Opinion (The Opinion). He was a member of the
First Philippine Assembly representing
Manila's
2nd district, the
Academia Filipina (Philippine Academy) and also became a leader of the
Municipal Board of Manila. He was also a correspondent to the
Royal Academy of the Spanish Language in
Madrid. His poetry book
Crisálidas was published in 1914. Subsequently, he published another verse compilation called
Aves y Flores. Guerrero died on June 12, 1929, coinciding with that year's anniversary of the
República Filipina (Philippine Republic). A school in
Paco,
Manila, was named after him in his honor. ==Poetry==