Biography
Carlos Alfredo Jr. is a multifaceted bilingual artist from Oakland, California. He is of Ecuadorean and Mexican descent. Growing up alongside his sisters in his family owned Mexican Restaurant, Carlos learned the importance of family and garnered a life-long love for people.
At the age of 7, he was introduced to the music of Selena y los Dinos by his older sister, which began his life long love for latin music. As a young teen he discovered a new passion, his guitar, practicing religiously into his late teens. It wasn't long before he began lending his talents to local bands. He played everything from Rock, Heavy Metal, and eventually Latin music in a band that taught him to play Cumbias, Rancheras, and Balladas, performing for the countless weddings and quinceañeras in his community. It was clear that Carlos was on a musical journey as he continued to nurture his musical abilities, eventually even taking his talents to the streets of Los Angeles where he learned the art of busking. Naturally, his love for music inspired him to write songs of his own, both in English and Spanish. As a singer-songwriter, Carlos taught himself to play other instruments including, Drums, Piano, Bass, and the Harmonica.
Carlos' love for the stage even led him to perform with the biggest Rock Band in Mexico, MANÁ, in front of 20,000 screaming fans at The Forum in Los Angeles. Not only did he get to live his childhood dream with his idols, but he was also gifted the Gibson Les Paul Guitar that was provided for him onstage.
Upon graduating high school, Carlos enrolled in a 3 year program at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA where he obtained his degree in Animation and Visual Effects. Through his experience as an animation student, Carlos was introduced to the thrilling world of acting. He decided that he'd follow his heart and explore this new-found passion for acting. He enrolled into The Meisner Technique Studio in San Francisco months after graduating, leaving his animation ambitions aside. At the studio he met some of the most important and influential people of his life, while gaining a deep respect for the craft of acting.
In 2018, he produced and starred in his own comedy show entitled Mutt and Chopps (2018), which was both nominated as a Finalist in the 2019 ARFF Barcelona International Film Festival, as well as the Santa Monica Webfest in the summer of 2020.
Carlos eventually came full circle with his dream role, as a series regular in Selena: The Series on Netflix, where he portrayed Joe Ojeda, the original keyboardist of Selena y los Dinos, showcasing his musical abilities on the piano. He starred alongside Christian Serratos, Ricardo Chavira, and Gabriel Chavarria to name a few. The series will premiere Dec. 4th 2020.
The future looks bright for Carlos, and he cannot be more excited on his journey to continue evolving as an artist.
He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
