He held the tenencia of Aguilar de Campóo for a long time early in his career (1146–65).
On 15 February 1149 he called himself filius comitis ("the count's son") in a document, perhaps to indicate his aspiration for a comital title.
Early in 1160 he and his brothers Manrique and Nuño were defeated at the Battle of Lobregal by the rival Castro family in one of the most violent aristocratic feuds of twelfth-century Spain.
[2] He was also present with his brothers at the Battle of Huete in the summer of 1164, where the Laras were defeated by the Castros a second time and Manrique was killed.
During the latter part of his career, Álvaro ruled Asturias de Santillana (1156–70) and briefly held the tenencia of Burgos (1168), the top military post in the capital of Castile.