This story will be updated.
Carlos Alvarez, the businessman who brought Mexican beers Modelo and Corona to the U.S., made the Texas town of Shiner synonymous with a craft brew and gave millions of dollars to support arts and education in San Antonio, has died.
He was 73 years old.
His death was announced in a letter dated April 9 from John Brozovich, president and CEO of The Gambrinus Company, which Alvarez founded in 1986.
“We will remember him for many things but especially his leadership, charisma, and charm,” Brozovich said. “He was truly one-of-a-kind.”
On Wednesday, at the start of a City Council meeting, Mayor Ron Nirenberg requested a moment of silence in honor of a “titan in our community.”
Born in Mexico City, Alvarez is a graduate of the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Monterrey, Mexico, where he earned a degree in biochemical engineering. Alvarez learned the beer trade from his father, who owned a Corona distributorship in Acapulco.
Working as an export manager for Grupo Modelo, Alvarez’s earliest career success came when he expanded sales of Modelo outside of Mexico. In 1981, he introduced the Mexican brand Corona to Texas by hand-selling the beer to Austin bars and restaurants.
By 1997, Corona was the number-one imported beer in the U.S.
Alvarez’s history in San Antonio began much earlier — with HemisFair ’68. Ten years after the World’s Fair, he again visited the city to meet with the owners of the former Pearl Brewery. He moved to San Antonio in 1986.
Today, Gambrinus owns two craft breweries, Spoetzl in Shiner, Texas — maker of the Shiner Beer brands — and Trumer Pils in Berkeley, Calif.
Alvarez acquired the Shiner brewery in 1989 and within 10 years, turned it into one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S.
In 2010, Alvarez was inducted into the prestigious Texas Business Hall of Fame.
‘A really good man’
The admired San Antonio businessman was well-known for his support of the arts and culture and education.
“Carlos chose San Antonio as his home, and San Antonio is a better place because of it,” said Phil Green, chairman and CEO of Frost Bank, where Alvarez served on the board of directors since 2001, in a statement. “This is where he became a citizen, this is where he built his business, and this is where he worked so hard to make people’s lives better. Through his philanthropy and his passion for education, he made a tremendous difference to thousands of people.”
Former Kronkosky Foundation Managing Director Tullos Wells said on Wednesday that Alvarez was universally respected and liked, and he was stunned to learn of his death.
“Obviously, he was wicked smart and successful, but he was just a very good, gracious man,” Wells said. “What he’s done in the community is untouchable by almost anyone. But in addition to being a great man, he was a really good man.”
Alvarez also was a major supporter of the Alamo. As recently as Monday, Alvarez attended a dedication ceremony of the Alvarez Family Terrace at the Alamo built with a $1 million donation from the Impetus Foundation, led by Alvarez and his family.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mr. Carlos Alvarez, who we honored earlier this week at the dedication of the Alvarez Family Terrace,” said Kate Rogers, executive director of the Alamo Trust. “His remarkable generosity and foresight have significantly impacted our efforts to safeguard the Alamo’s heritage. It means a great deal to us that we had the opportunity to thank him in person for his extraordinary contributions to the Alamo and the San Antonio community.”
In March 2021, Alvarez gave $20 million to UTSA, the institution’s largest-ever gift from a living donor. The university named its College of Business after Alvarez.
“As an institution, we wouldn’t be where we are today without Carlos’ passion for helping our students invest in their dreams, just as he did for himself and his family,” UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said in a statement.
UT Health San Antonio also honored Alvarez by naming its transplant center for the philanthropist and his wife — the Malú & Carlos Alvarez Center for Transplantation, Hepatobiliary Surgery & Innovation.
“The Long School of Medicine has benefited from their generosity, allowing us to hire outstanding faculty to advance the field of transplantation and immunology, including research and discovery in many other critical areas of health care,” said Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, director of the transplant center and a longtime friend of Alvarez and his wife.
“Carlos always gave credit for his success to those who helped him along his career journey and believed in doing the same for others,” Cigarroa added. “He was an outstanding humanitarian and philanthropic leader who will be profoundly missed.”
A gift of $2 million from Alvarez to Texas Public Radio in 2018 was also that organization’s largest-ever gift in its 30-year history. The media nonprofit established the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Theater, a black box theater that hosts special events, forums and performances.
Alvarez also contributed to the creation of a 190-seat Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
In October 2020, the Alvarez family donated $1 million for a COVID testing startup and nonprofit known as Community Labs, and in December 2020, they donated $1 million to establish the Alvarez Challenge Grant, which funds scholarships for Alamo Promise students at Alamo Colleges.
“I am heartbroken for his family,” said Pat Frost, who retired as president of the San Antonio-based bank in 2023. “Carlos was the best marketer I have ever known that we all learned a tremendous amount from. He also gave much more than his share back to our community. An extremely generous man.”
Alvarez is survived by his wife, Malú Alvarez, his daughters, Malú Alvarez and Carla Brozovich, son-in-law John Brozovich, and two grandchildren, Carlos Brozovich and Carla Brozovich.
Disclosure: Shiner Beers and Carlos and Malú Alvarez’s Impetus Foundation are financial supporters of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of business members, click here.
