rodríguez was born lajas, puerto rico into a poor family. rodríguez did not have a formal education. his father owned an ox cart and earned a living by delivering goods to the town's merchants. rodríguez rose early in the morning to help his father. together they went to the railroad station, where they loaded the goods onto their ox cart and then delivered them. when he was 14 years old, his father died and he had to take over the ox cart and the financial responsibility of his family. the economic situation became so bad that in 1937, when he was 25 years old, he joined the puerto rico national guard.