A benefactor of history projects and education, he was among the first private donors to the ongoing Alamo makeover and gave UTSA a record donation.
Beer magnate and philanthropist Carlos Alvarez of San Antonio — whose donations benefited many causes, including education, history and heritage projects — has died. A spokesman for the Gambrinus Company confirmed his death but did not disclose details.
His latest community involvement was Monday’s dedication of the new Alvarez Family Terrace, a second-story rooftop event space on the Alamo’s Ralston Family Collections Center that overlooks the Alamo Gardens, following a $1 million donation to the Alamo makeover project. The family was among the first private donors to support the ongoing $550 million public-private effort to transform the historic mission and battle site, Alamo officials said. Mari Tamez, who works for Bexar County as its heritage outreach manager, was among the first to note and mourn Alvarez’s passing late Tuesday, calling him a “kind man who loved this community and did so much to make it a better place.” In a Facebook post, she credited his support for the Canary Islands Descendants Association’s project commemorating the 1718 establishment of a village in San Antonio, which included The Founders Monument, a series of statues by the north end of the county courthouse. “He always had wise and encouraging words,” recalled Tamez, a former president of the association. Alvarez, who was 73, was born in Mexico and grew up in Acapulco, where his father established a Corona beer distributorship in the 1940s. He worked with the family business and later joined Grupo Modelo, overseeing exports. He took Corona Extra to the United States in 1981, selling the first cases of that brand in Austin, and founded the Gambrinus Company in 1986, and moved to San Antonio with his wife and two daughters. Gambrinus imported Grupo Modelo beer brands and became one of the largest independent beer businesses in the country. Alvarez acquired the 80-year-old Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, which was then in decline, in 1989, and oversaw a financial turnaround, with Shiner Bock emerging as its flagship brand. Alvarez was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2011, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which recognizes immigrants whose philanthropy improves their communities. In 2021, he and his wife Malú committed $20 million to the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Business, which was renamed the Carlos Alvarez College of Business — the first named college at UTSA. It was the school’s largest gift ever from a living donor. The Alvarez family had previously donated more than $7 million to UTSA. The family has also made million-dollar commitments and gifts to the Alamo Colleges District, University of the Incarnate Word and St. Mary’s University, and gave $2.5 million to the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The terrace overlooking the Alamo, which holds up to 130 guests, is one of five areas currently available for private event rentals to generate revenue that supports its operations.
UTSA University Of Texas At San Antonio College Of Bus Gambrinus Company Spoetzl Brewery Alamo Gardens Canary Islands Descendants Association Grupo Modelo University Of The Incarnate Word St. Mary's University Alamo Colleges District Carlos Alvarez Mari Tamez Malú Alvarez Family Terrace Bexar County Acapulco San Antonio Ralston Family Collections Center Corona United States The Founders Monument Mexico Austin Tobin Center For The Performing Arts Texas Business Hall Of Fame Ellis Island Medal Of Honor Corona Extra Facebook Gambrinus Shiner
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