Alumni Spotlight: G Alvarado B’20

 

Thank you! Like many things in life, there is no uniform, straightforward path. My path, coupled with my unique skill set and background, has led me towards certain opportunities. Through every journey, it is important to remember the core pillars of your heart, mind, spirit, and life that help support and ground you through the good and the bad. 

 

Our Jesuit education teaches us that this care for the whole self is vital, not only in high school but as a way of life. We never stop learning and pushing ourselves, even in things we may not understand. You will never know until you try; the only way to do that is simply to begin. This can sometimes be the hardest step. Yet, many Lions need to remember that the community we are a part of supports those starting steps in many ways – ways I am very grateful for.

 

When asked about giving advice on this for life beyond high school or university, I smile and laugh a bit. Life beyond these things already exists; it is simply a multitude of factors that differentiate at what point in time we embrace this. I highly encourage current Lions to embrace and reflect on their lives beyond the classroom today. They should question and apply what they have learned to push themselves to grow and help make the world better. Below, I have shared a few of the avenues I have explored in doing so and hope to be a light towards creating the world we want to see for the greater glory of God. 

 

While these adventures have led towards success in many different ways, what I am most proud of is not the awards and accomplishments themselves. Rather, it is the person I have become and the friends and family I have made and continue to make. 

 

 

At a very young age, I began writing poetry and teaching myself traditional 2D animation with my cartoons “Red and Blue.” By the time I was in my freshman year at Bellarmine, I had won poetry competitions and began animating my first short film based on one of my children's books, “Mr.Happ-E”. Every day after class and baseball, I would hand-draw traditional animation, edit scripts, and compose music. My teachers started seeing some of the gifts I am grateful for and blessed to receive. They began helping me refine them. 

 

As a financial aid student who wasn’t sure about Bellarmine at first, this was pivotal. I wasn’t a legacy student. We were on basic needs assistance, yet my teachers looked past all that and saw what I could become. Not only did my teachers genuinely care about me and my education, but they saw that I wanted to use these gifts to help others. A notion we carry in our AMDG that resonated deeply with me. I was invited to help create the Bellarmine Gala Video and help others like me receive this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend our school. With great pride, our fundraising video did well, and I am always so happy to see fellow Lions showing up and supporting our community.

 

I then began wrapping up my film production of “Mr.Happ-E,” which received recognition in film festivals worldwide upon my graduation. This came just in time for a global pandemic in 2020. The world was showing us again that it never stops changing. 

 

We never stop changing and growing, pushing to be the best we can be. I saw this demonstrated by the students and faculty here at Bellarmine. I took this principle to my work and pushed for something new. I began innovating new rotoscoping techniques to allow myself to perform alongside jazz legend Nat King Cole. Growing up in a diverse household with great influence from Sicilian and Colombian culture, I was pushed to learn not only our culture but also American culture. This led to baseball on the radio and jazz legends on the record player, which helped me learn English. I wanted to pay my respects to them. The music video led to domestic and international recognition in New York and Europe, opening new avenues that I am very grateful to receive.

 

 

I have continued innovating and developing this effect in my most recent production, utilizing it and advanced tracking, called “Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, & G Alvarado The Oldest Established.” This project won awards in Rome. It accredited my work and me on IMDb. It is slated to release online later this year, 2025, once our exclusivity contract expires. 

 

Currently, I have a few special projects in the pipeline, including a written piece celebrating our very own FJ (Fr. Jerry S.J.). I would share test animations with him in his office. He was always encouraging, no matter how small they were. On deck, I am working on some standalone animations based on my other children's stories with original musical scores. I want my cartoons to embody what made the original Looney Tunes and Walt Disney Animations so great. Through my works, I want to tell honest and authentic stories that resonate with people and bring smiles to the hearts of others.

 

 

Yet, with great ambitious goals of bringing back quality traditional animation and storytelling also come great costs and timelines, something every creative and businessperson is burdened with in some way. After looking at the projections of one of the animations on our slate, we see that it would take over 110k USD and a decade to produce. I asked myself; how could I change this?

 

 

While at Bellarmine, I had always felt this push to be well-rounded and care for the education of the whole self. That we, as Lions, say no to barriers and ask the questions that get to the root of the issue so that we may overcome them. I began studying Computer Science, Mathematics, and Engineering at university. It was something I was not a natural at, yet my creativity and problem-solving skills, partnered with the Jesuit principles instilled from Bellarmine, helped me forge paths towards success. I dove into learning web design and building my website (thegalvarado.com) to help businesses with tech and innovation – the very thing I sought to do with my studio.

 

A.I. is a very hot word and a very misunderstood one at that. With limited budget and resources, I began innovating and building my computer to train AI models and pipelines. This project was trained on my work and is devoid of copyright issues. I learned new software and programs using online resources and began creating the “Artificially Intelligent Animation Helper” called “Aiah”. Designed to work with artists rather than against and preserve our artistic integrity while improving production capacity, “Aiah” is not a replacement for animators but merely a tool and workflow designed to help enhance our traditional animation and output. Current projections show that our initial timeline has been reduced to the estimated range of 6-7 years. I was very fortunate and blessed to participate in the Bill and Melinda Gates School of Computer Science and Engineering session of the University of Washington Research Symposium this past May and be recognized for my achievements. While Aiah is not designed to be brought to market, it remains in-house with our goal remaining the same. To tell real and authentic stories that resonate with people and bring some smiles into the hearts of others.

 

So, tell these stories we have! 

 

I am very blessed to not only share these gifts with the world but to begin to be recognized for them as well. I wanted something to celebrate this, while also needing something to wear to a few invitational film festivals. This led me toward wrist watches. Yet again, with limited funds and resources, I turned to something I do best: innovating and creating. My time at Bellarmine taught me to see the world through what it could be, including myself. Even if that means doing something new, learning ensues, regardless of the outcome.

 

 

I began meeting with retired Rolex and Omega watchmakers, jewelers, and manufacturers worldwide. I taught myself the design and engineering of 3D prototyping and modeling. Utilizing the skills of this wonderful team and network, I am very grateful to have assembled and learned so much from them. After many failed attempts and problem-solving, we delivered the unique piece: “R&B 1 Automatic 39mm Watch.” The watch utilizes my original “Red and Blue” cartoon characters, which gave me my start in animation. From this, I have begun receiving external interest in my designs and production of bespoke watches and jewelry casting, which I continue exploring and developing. In many ways, it plays into my studio goals of producing quality storytelling, simply in a new medium and form. 

 

 

Storytelling comes in many forms and mediums, including on the stage. While not animating cartoons for the silver screen or forging stories in actual silver, I have also had the great opportunity to perform on stage for audiences! While growing up learning English from jazz legends, I would also learn to dance from classic movies. My family would do this so I could establish quick feet, both for my competitive baseball and getting out of their way in the kitchen. Quickly, they got me on stage performing tap dance, doing sleight of hand magic, playing saxophone, and singing jazz numbers. At Bellarmine, I performed in gigs around the Sound while playing baseball.  I highly encourage other Lions to cultivate the Arts, Athletics, and Academics, for everything helps and enhances each other.  I’ve also performed in theatrical productions, including leads at Tacoma Musical Playhouse, “Singin’ in the Rain” (Cosmo), and in their upcoming “Mary Poppins” (Bert). Audiences will see lots of magic, including tap dancing upside down and across the ceiling!