Artist, writer, and educator Carlos Salazar Herrera was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, on September 6, 1906. From a young age he showed talent in writing and art and began entering his written works into contests in primary school. By high school he was active in the movement to make Costa Rica a hub of creativity on the same level as Mexico and the United States, and in 1928 he wrote an essay on Costa Rican artistic renewal. In 1930 he took a job as a short story writer for Repertorio Americano, a Costa Rican publication for Central American intellectuals and artists (1919 - 1958). Around this time, he also began to study woodengraving and sculpture. He won a silver medal for his sclupture "Motivo" in 1935 at the Central American Art Exhibition. 

In 1942 Herrera took a position as a professor of writing at the University of Costa Rica, and in 1947 he published a book of hort stories titled "Tales of Anguish and Landscapes," which he illustrated with woodengravings of his own design. Meanwhile, his desire to uplift the arts in Costa Rica kept him on his mission to provide access to the citizens of the country to modern liberal arts, including music, literature, visual arts, and performing arts; as such he took the position of director of Radio Univeridad when it was offered to him in April of 1950, working with fellow writer Don Carlos to establish the station's presence. He is credited with being a central figure in bringing Costa Rican culture to the modern world.

Herrera continued to write until his death on July 24, 1980.