His grandfather, José María Marxuach, was twice the Mayor of the City of San Juan and the only Puerto Rican to serve in said position when Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule and after the island was ceded to the United States.
The Commission or "volunteers", as they were otherwise known, that landed at Arroyo on 1 August 1898 consisted of: Pedro Juan Besosa, José Budet, Domingo Collazo, Mateo Fajardo, Emilio González, Antonio Mattei Lluberas, Rafael Marxuach y Abrams, Rafael Muñoz, and Warren Sutton (the only American in the group).
Villavicencio Marxuach was born in the town of Santurce to Rafael Villavicencio Plumey and Teresa Marxuach Plumey de Villavicencio; his maternal uncle was Lieutenant Colonel Teófilo Marxuach.