[1] Born in Lima, his parents were Pedro Villanueva Urquijo, a gynecologist in the city, and Carmen Rosa Portal del Campo.

At the age of 15 Villanueva became a member of APRA's Juventud Aprista Peruana in opposition to the military dictatorship of Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro.

At the age of 18 he was imprisoned in El Frontón prison (located on the small island of San Lorenzo off the coast of Callao, Lima's main port) for his subversive activities in Peru.

He was a political ally and personal friend of Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, the founder and most prominent leader of the APRA party.

Ana Maria Villanueva de Riva-Vercellotti was married to an Italian, and Armando was convinced that Peru's secret police would never find him there.

[4] A private wake was held the following day at his home in Chacarilla, being moved to the Casa del Pueblo on the 16th and buried at El Ángel Cemetery on the 17th.