Brenes Mesén born in San José, Costa Rica on 6 July 1874. He went to school and high-school in San José. He obtained his Maestro Normal degree in the Escuela Normal de Heredia, where he was later employed. In 1897 he left for Chile on a scholarship, where he studied Law, French and Latin. He later studied phylology in the Instituto Pedagógico de Chile. He returned to Costa Rica in 1900 and taught Castellano, Psychology and Logic in the Liceo de Costa Rica. He also became the Liceo de Heredia's first headmaster from 1905 to 1908.
