About the author …

Luis Álvarez Fiol was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

He holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame (Bachelor of

Business Administration-Marketing, 1981) and Berklee College

of Music (Bachelor of Arts, Music-Commercial Arranging and

Composition, 1983). In 1984, he was graduated from the Air

National Guard School of Military Sciences and received his

commission as a second lieutenant. He later trained as a pilot

at Laughlin Air Force Base. In 1985, he returned to San Juan

where he worked as a food and beverage executive in a career

that spanned over 30 years. During this time, he founded and

produced the Puerto Rico Heineken JazzFest, one of the leading

jazz festivals in the Caribbean. He later started the Berklee in

Puerto Rico educational program in partnership with his alma

mater in Boston. Álvarez Fiol has served on the Berklee College

Board of Trustees, and in other senior advisory positions, for

over two decades. He is actively involved with several non

governmental organizations including Make Music Happen,

which he founded in order to foster music educational programs

for young talented musicians in Puerto Rico. He currently

divides his time between San Juan, Dallas, and Asturias, Spain