Ponce de Leon was born on July 4, 1922 in Miami, Florida. His early life and education was in Mexico City. There he studied at Universidad Nacional Autonam de Mexico and the University of Mexico City. During the second world war he served in the United States Army Air Force. After the war he moved to New York City where he studied at the Art Student League of New York and the Nation Academy of Design.
Ponce de Leon died in Mexico in 2006.