The short of it: After nine years in the navy, at the age of 31, Alvarez jumped ship — not figuratively — and swam to American shore. He worked at a coffee roaster in Miami and eventually hopped on a Greyhound to New York City (he said he was running from the FBI, who pressed him for identification he didn’t have). The first time Alvarez saw snow — and experienced the East Coast cold — was outside of Port Authority. The expat had $7 to spend on his first winter coat, and even though it cost $10, the shop owner let him buy it for $3 less.
