Mario
Alvarez
Sanchez
Mario is a professional table tennis player, psychologist, and inspiring figure whose life story embodies perseverance, talent, and the power of a second chance. From humble beginnings in Chinandega, Nicaragua, to representing his country on the world stage and finding a new home in the USA, Mario’s journey is truly extraordinary.
My Story
Mario Alvarez is a Nicaraguan table tennis player and psychologist.
He was born in the city of Chinandega, Nicaragua, on July 9, 1989. Chinandega is the second most important city in Nicaragua (economically), with a population of 115,067 inhabitants, and is located about 83 miles northwest of the capital, Managua.
His father, Mario Cristobal Alvarez Molina, is a chemist and pharmacist who graduated from Varna University, Sofia, Bulgaria.
His mother is a lawyer by profession, a graduate of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN), León.
Mario is an only child and, from a young age, was hyperactive and very active, probably showing symptoms of (ADHD). Because of this, he did not have a childhood like everyone else, but he was always a very intelligent and proactive child in cultural, social, and sports activities.
His home was very hostile and difficult due to his father’s alcoholism problem. For many years, he suffered domestic violence. One of the moments that marked Mario’s life was the separation of his parents when he was still 15 years old. His father went to Spain and started a new life, but this emotionally affected Mario’s life, leading him to seek refuge in alcohol, cigarettes, and other poor choices due to the void his father had left.
Bad Path
For many years, he was on a bad path, but at the age of 20, with the help of the Alcoholics Anonymous program and the support of his paternal grandparents, the athlete managed to see a new light in the darkness he had lived in for many years. It was at that moment that Mario managed to change the course of his life, resuming his university studies and the paddle sport that changed his life story.
In his early days, Mario played table tennis and used it as an emotional refuge, unaware that he would eventually become one of the best players in his country. In 2016, he graduated as a psychologist from the Autonomous Christian University of Nicaragua, seeing psychology as a book of his life with many answers. In that same year, he was already one of the best in his country and had managed to represent Nicaragua in multiple international tournaments. These merits earned him a scholarship to the best university in Nicaragua, Keiser University Latin American, where he pursued his second university degree in the Alma Mater’s business school (Business Administration).
In 2017, Mario made history by winning the first silver medal in the Central American and Caribbean University Games (ODUCC) in Venezuela. Later that same year, he would fulfill one of his biggest sporting dreams, becoming the first table tennis player in Nicaraguan history to participate in the Summer Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan, being the flag bearer for his delegation in the world’s second-largest multi-sport event. Yet, his incredible story of perseverance, effort, and talent would not end there!
Flee from Threats
In 2018, Mario had to flee his country due to death threats from the Nicaraguan dictatorship. The athlete had previously given an interview to the Univision network where he expressed the government’s wrongdoing, which was the reason he abandoned everything in his country, left everything he once was, and, most importantly, his grandparents, whom he never saw again.
Mario came to Las Vegas seeking refuge to safeguard his life. The world entertainment city was already familiar to him because, in previous years, he had represented his country on multiple occasions in the US Open of Table Tennis. But this time, the athlete’s reality was different; although he carried his backpack full of dreams and hopes to start a life from scratch, that journey was going to be very heavy in its early stages.
He worked all kinds of jobs: construction, cleaning, restoration, and even cleaning up trash in the Nevada desert. But his faith in God and passion for the sport were his strength to keep fighting.
Great Opportunity
In 2020, during the pandemic, the athlete got a great opportunity as the manager and coach of the Las Vegas Table Tennis Club. He served the city’s table tennis community for free. However, many multimillionaires and celebrities supported his sports career. His path was not easy; Alvarez improved athletically, which caused many people in the table tennis community to become jealous and envious of him to the point that he received racial attacks and defamation. But that never stopped him. In 2022, the greatest year of his sporting career began. Mario Alvarez became the first table tennis player from his country to play a professional tournament: WTT Feeder Fremont, California, and WTT Fort Lauderdale 2022, where the best players in the world participated. Subsequently, after gaining points for the world ranking, he managed to place himself among the top 621 players in the world and number one in Nicaragua. He has undoubtedly been one of the best athletes in his country in recent years.
American Dream
Mario Alvarez is an example that the American dream exists, and he is very grateful to the United States and its people for giving him a new home.
Mario currently works for the Golden Nugget casino (table games), the NFL (guest experience), and for the UPS company making deliveries, and one of his biggest dreams is to continue supporting his mother and to have his psychology degree accredited.
Mario is currently writing his book, which will be titled “It’s Never Too Late to Be Better Than Yesterday,” and is also preparing for the US OPEN 2025, to be held from December 16 to 21 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Let’s go!
¡Vamos!
