In the school La Concordia (of El Tocuyo), run by Egidio Montesinos, he received the influence of literary classics and knowledge of Latin, aspects that would be decisive in his intellectual life.

In this sense, Alvarado was confronted with his religious and traditionalist vision of life with the new scientific ideas of the late nineteenth century.

In this period Alvarado shared his scientific knowledge with César Zumeta, Luis López Méndez and José Rafael Revenga, giving information about his first works around 1882.

[citation needed] Despite his first inclination towards the positivist doctrine, contact with Cecilio Acosta, allowed Alvarado to connect to neoclassical tendencies other than positivism.

[citation needed] He traveled the country on donkey, in canoes and on foot, which allowed him to come into direct contact with Venezuelan reality: the landscapes, the vegetation, the wildlife, the customs and popular traditions, the different dialects, including the numerous indigenous people he met and whose language he could study first-hand.