According to the official account, Manuel Ricardo Palma y Carrillo was born on February 7, 1833, in Lima, inscribed as the son of Pedro Ramón Palma and Guillerma Carrillo y Pardos, possibly his grandmother. On April 6, 1837, his father married Dominga Soriano y Carrillo, Guillerma's daughter. However, the documentary evidence shows many contradictions that was pointed out by Monsignor Salvador Herrera Pinto who relying on oral traditions and written testimonies concludes that Ricardo Palma was born in the town of Talavera, province of Andahuaylas, Apurímac Region.