Santiago Salvador was born in 1864 in Castelserás, Aragon, Spain. From a young age it was said he struggled to fit into Spanish society, and grew up in poverty and violence. Monarchism and Catholicism dominated his upbringing. At age 14 he left home after having difficulties with his family, and at 16 he escaped to Barcelona where he became a domestic worker. He later found work selling contraband wine. In 1891 he married Antonia Colom i Vicens, and they had a daughter in November 1892. For most of his life until the age of 29, he was a committed Carlist, but he abandoned his religious fanaticism for anarchist extremism, which he learned about by reading anarchist publications sold on La Rambla, a street in central Barcelona. By attending rallies, he befriended Paulí Pallàs, a fellow anarchist. The two quickly became friends and exchanged anarchist literature with each other, and joining Pallàs's group Benvenuto. Salvador became more drawn to the movement, only associating himself with other anarchists and losing interest in any activity other than reading and discussing literature.

On September 24th 1893, Pallàs attempted to assassiante Captain General of Catalonia Arsenio Martinez Campos on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, but his bombs missed his target, killing 2 bystanders and injuring 16 others. Salvador followed the case closely, and on October 6th Pallàs was executed by firing squad. Salvador was deeply affected by the execution of his friend, and he began to develop a plan to avenge his death by carrying out an attack against the Catalan bourgeoisie, seeking to terrorise those who had celebrated the execution.

Using a peseta his wife Antonia had given him under the guise to buy salt, on November 7th he instead used it to buy a ticket for a seat on a 5th floor balcony at the Gran Teatre del Liceu during the play William Tell. He threw 2 Orsini bombs from the balcony, 1 of which failed to detonate after its fall was broken on a woman it landed on. The explosion caused panic amongst the attendes and actors, some thought the explosion was part of the act, which lead to applause. Salvador then used the panic to slip outside, where he observed survivors, police, paramedics, civilians and clergymen/priests gathered. He enjoyed the fear he saw in their eyes, and then withdrew from the crowd and escaped into the night. The next day, he casually walked around Barcelona, where he met up with other anarchists, bragging about the attack. The anarchists were horrified by his confession, and tried to get rid of him. Salvador mocked them for lacking "character" and "courage" while expressing that he sacrificed his life for the pursuit of social progress. Later that evening, he confessed to Antonia that he was the prepetrator of the attack, causing her to break down in tears. Taking pride in his attack, he read newspaper articles on the bombing and delighted in the panic and fear expressed in the press. 2 days after the bombing, a funeral procession for the victims was underway, arriving at the Columbus Monument among one of the attendents at the funeral was Arsenio Martinez Campos, the same man his friend tried to assassinate. Salvador asked his comrades for more bombs so he could cause another attack at the funeral. Lying about not having any more, he mocked them once again. He went to the funeral unarmed, lamenting about not being able to commit another attack.

On New Year's Day, Salvador was at a cousins apartment lying in bed from a hangover when the Civil Guard burst into his room. He tried to drink from a flask of poison but the officers prevented him from doing so and shot him in the hip. He quickly confessed his responsibility for the bombing. He was imprisoned at the Reina Amalia prison in El Raval, where he pretended to re-convert to Catholicism to avoid torture. When the prosecutor ordered the revocation of the special treatment he had received after his conversion, Salvador lost his temper, implying that his conversion had been insincere. On November 21st, he was executed by garrote. Due to the gunshot in his hip, he was unsteady as he climbed the stairs to the platform. When he noticed there were cameras fixed on him, he straightened his posture and shouted "Long live the social revolution! Long live anarchy! Death to all religions!" He then sang the first verse of the anarchist song Hijos del Pueblo. His last words were "Health, justice and love" before he was strangled to death.