Anísio Spínola Teixeira was born on July 12, 1900, in Caetité (state of Bahia). The people from the "Court of the Sertão", as the city was known, were proud of its culture and schools. By the time he was born, Caetité's elementary and secondary schools, both founded by his father Deocleciano Pires Teixeira, were still in operation.

Anísio spent his early years in the manor ("sobrado") on Cathedral Square, under his mother's care. According to Mrs. Anna Spínola Teixeira, her son was quite early "drawn into the atmosphere of the jesuit schools": the Saint Luiz Gonzaga Institute, in Caetité, and the Antônio Vieira School, in Salvador, where he finished his secondary education.