He was born in the state of Cundinamarca and educated in Bogotá. He then spent time in Cuba and Caracas, Venezuela, returning in 1847. He founded a publishing house and a newspaper before joining the Chorographic Commission in 1850. The Commission's goal was to produce a complete record of the geography, natural history, culture, and economy of the country. He wrote a book Peregrinación de Alpha por las provincias del norte de La Nueva Granada en 1850-1851 (Alpha's Pilgrimage) describing what he found, and promoting the idea of developing a new Colombian culture based on both Indian and Spanish roots.
In the 1850s he worked on diplomatic missions to resolve border and other disputes.
He was honored on a postage stamp of Colombia issued in 1953.