Born in Bercianos del Real Camino Francés (province of León, Spain), Calvo Olmedo left his hometown at the age of 17 to travel to America in search of opportunities. After touring several countries, he decided to settle in Balboa, Panama, where he worked as a painter and photographer, trades he had learned in his homeland. The details of his apprenticeship in art and filmmaking are not known; however, it is known that in America he had the opportunity to handle film cameras, which were handled only by experienced photographers. In addition to working for some years as a photographer, Olmedo also worked as a distributor for 20th Century Fox in Balboa, a production company with which he filmed the War between Panama and Costa Rica (1918).