Texas Public Radio Receives Record $2 Million Gift From Carlos Alvarez

TPR Receives Record $2 Million Gift From Carlos Alvarez
Carlos and Malú Alvarez Theater At TPR To Inspire
Enhanced Community Engagement

TPR has received a $2 million gift from Carlos Alvarez, the chairman and chief executive officer of The Gambrinus Company. The gift from the Alvarez family is the largest gift in TPR’s 30-year history, and a momentous contribution toward TPR’s campaign to relocate its headquarters and significantly expand its operations. TPR’s headquarters will move to the stage house of the historic Alameda Theater, on the banks of the San Pedro Creek, in downtown San Antonio.  A prominent feature of the new facility will be the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Theater, a black box theater, central to TPR’s vision for convening community conversations, and hosting political forums and cultural performances in a prominent and accessible location. 

“Making San Antonio our home was an extraordinarily fortunate decision for our family; being now able to contribute to TPR’s building of its new home is very gratifying” Alvarez said.  “It was Tom Frost who brought me to the table, and as he had done before with many causes, inspired me to contribute to help TPR keep our community informed,”  Alvarez added.  Prior to his death on August 10, Tom Frost had been serving as honorary chair of TPR’s $10 million fundraising campaign along with co-chairs Tim Swan and Jordan Vexler Shannon.

Gambrinus was founded by Alvarez in 1986 when he moved from his native Mexico with his family to San Antonio.  He was the driving force behind the initial launch of Corona beer in the United States and the brand’s phenomenal growth for 20 years (1986-2006), during which time Corona became America’s number one import.  Today, The Gambrinus Company is a leading U.S. craft brewer and marketer with breweries in Shiner, Texas (The Spoetzl Brewery), Portland, Oregon (Bridgeport Brewing Company) and Berkeley, California (Trumer Brewery).

“This extraordinary gift from Carlos Alvarez presents TPR with an opportunity to make exponential progress in our efforts to directly connect to our community with educational, cultural and civic programs,” says Joyce Slocum, president and chief executive officer of TPR, “Mr. Alvarez’s generous support of education and the arts has made San Antonio a better place.”  Tim Swan and Jordan Vexler Shannon added, “This remarkably generous gift energized the campaign and has proven to be reflective of the broad community support for this project.”

In October 2018, TPR celebrates 30 years since its founding and begins construction on the new headquarters. Scheduled to be completed in late 2019, the state-of-the-art facility in the city center will encourage increased community engagement and provide an opportunity to enhance and expand primary services.  The headquarters is part of an overall project to restore and redevelop the Alameda Theater and its adjacent complex in collaboration with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and the Alameda Theater Conservancy.