Mario de Jesús Cañete Farías was born in Palmilla, O'Higgins Region, Chile, in July 1912. A hardworking countryman, Mario spent most of his life in rural areas of Colchagua Province, such as Barreales and Nenquén in Santa Cruz, and Palmilla.
Mr. Cañete married twice: to Berta de las Mercedes Sotelo Escudero (d. November 1962), with whom he had fifteen children, and to a woman called Sabina Marabolí (d. 1990s), with whom he had one child.
During his latter years, he lived in the coastal town of Pichilemu, with his daughter Elinarda del Carmen Cañete Sotelo.
Mario passed away on October 1, 2007, because of stomach cancer, in Santa Cruz.
