I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 26.
When I was a child had the compulsive habit of draw red-roofed houses on any piece of paper that I saw in my way. Every house should have an open door between two windows and an undulating path in the middle of a green field. From a small chimney I painted a gray smoke pushed by an imaginary wind. The sky was deep blue scattered with white clouds. Two small curves lines were like birds flying. I painted also a tree full of red apples next to the house. Finally I drew in the sky a yellow disc as the sun. They were simple doodles, like all the children do. The difference was in the quantity but not in the quality. For a long time I contemplated my drawings, imagining I was inside of them. Then I was frustrated at not being able to draw the the essence and space with in.
My aunt Carmen Alfonzo Rivas, a professional painter, taught me the techniques of drawing, color, shade, light and so on. When she died I inherited her brushes and colors, that I utilized to create my first oil painting, entitled “BARLOVENTEÑA”.
Years later, when I was nineteen, another family member, Juan Bautista Plaza Alfonzo, erudite master and a musicologist of great renown, led me toward deeper knowledge such as Art History, the Integrated Arts, the Pictorial Rhythm, the Golden Ratio, etc, in longs and very nice chats.
But I wanted to be an architect. So, I started my studies in the School of Architecture at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. My favorite subjects were: Free Hand Drawing, Clay Modeling, History of Arts and Architectonical Design. I abandoned these studies, due to a strong vocation for mass communications media. I started as scriptwriter in radio. Then I went to TV, in which I did several tasks such as actor, commercial announcer, news narrator, screenwriter and documentary film director.
---And what are you doing now?
Today I am devoted to painting and writing.