[1][2] Manuel Cidre arrived in Puerto Rico from his native Cuba at a young age, first living in the northern coastal city of Arecibo.

[3] In 1978[4] he started a company in Bayamon named "Los Cidrines", which sells bakery goods and bread in Puerto Rico[5] along with his brother, Guillermo Cidre.

Graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor in management, Finance and Marketing.

[7] He has served in multiple community and philanthropic organizations in Puerto Rico, and as the president of the following associations: Manuel Cidre has 4 children and 6 grandchildren.

Asked by Carmen Jovet which of the three main ideologies in Puerto Rico (statehood, free association or independence) he identified with, he declined to identify himself with any of them but commented that he is against Puerto Rico's status as a colony.