Alfredo A. Castellanos Bayouth, born 1964 on the year that Martin Luther King, Jr. won his Nobel Prize for Peace and a year after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, became a lawyer in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the year 1990. The son of Ex-Chief Magistrate Judge Jesús A. Castellanos and Beverly Bayout, Mr. Castellanos obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico, while studying for a master's degree in Economics and holding a full-time job in the prestigious law firm of Martínez, Odell, Calabria & Sierra.

Education and early life

During his early years as a high school student, Mr. Castellanos was admitted to Georgetown Preparatory School, the oldest preparatory school in the United States and one of the top ten high schools in the United States for over fifty years, where members of George Washington's family attended during the days of the inception of the Republic. Due to his father's appointment to the Federal Bench in 1979, Mr. Castellanos concluded his high school studies in Colegio San Jose Preparatory School in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, graduating with honors recognition for his freshman and sophomore academic achievements. During his years in high school, Mr. Castellanos played football for Lake Braddock Secondary School in Virginia and then continued playing the sport at Georgetown Prep. until his return to Puerto Rico.

Mr. Castellanos was admitted to the University of Maryland in 1982. During his collegiate years at the university, Mr. Castellanos at times excelled in academics, making the Dean's list during four semesters, while during other semesters he felt swayed by the high spirit environment at College Park, Maryland.

At College Park, Mr. Castellanos became a middleweight boxer for the University of Maryland boxing team. In 1983, he became the captain of the team through unanimous support of his teammates. That year, Mr. Castellanos became the University of Maryland boxing champion in the middleweight division.

After concluding his successful experimentation with the sport of boxing, Mr. Castellanos focused his attention in two principle objectives: being admitted to study abroad at the University of London, England, and being admitted to work in Congress under the Lyndon B. Johnson Scholarship Program. As can be expected, Mr. Castellanos became the first ever student of the University of Maryland to be authorized to study in London for two semesters, where he opted to live with English families to become better acquainted with British culture. During the years he spent in London, Mr. Castellanos studied many courses in economics, government and politics, marketing and other important subjects which were appropriate for the times (Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had just began her premiership and President Ronald Reagan had began his mission to eradicate communism from the European front.)

Moreover, during the summers of 1983 and 1985, Mr. Castellanos was selected by the then Congressman Baltasar Corrada del Rio to the highly prestigious Lyndon B. Johnson summer intern scholarship program. It is also worth mentioning, that Mr. Castellanos' interest in politics became to manifest at the time when he decided to volunteer for internship work of the Hon. Baltasar Corrada del Rio during his final semester at the University of Maryland in 1986.

Also, during the time he spent studying in London, Mr. Castellanos began to travel extensively. Among the countries he visited were the Soviet Union, East and West Berlin, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Israel, and Egypt, the Palestinian occupied Morocco territories, among other countries. During the fall semester of 1985, he visited Spain and Portugal, the year in which they were to be incorporated in the then European Economic Community, to conduct and economic and marketing study on how said integration would impact both, then, less developed countries and the EEC as a whole. Since then, Mr. Castellanos' interest in travel, both professionally and personally, has lead him to travel over 6,000,000 miles and he has visited well over 100 countries in his still relatively young life.<ref>35 states in the United States, Canada, Mexico (over fifty times), Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua]], Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Barbados, Granada]], Aruba, Curacao, St. Lucia, Guadalupe, Martinique, St. Martin (both Dutch and French sides), St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda, U.S. Virgin Islands, Monserrate, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Vatican City, Russia, Soviet Union, Cuba, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Greece and the Greek Islands, Tunisia, Spanish Canary Islands and Ibiza, Cataluña, Vasco Country, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong (pre and post colonialism), China, twice visited Tibet, Mongolia, Philippines, Japan, Macao, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and a few others.</ref>

After finishing his undergrad studies at the University of Maryland, Mr. Castellanos was admitted at the highly competitive University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1986, which in conjuction with the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, are the two most competitive academic institutions in Puerto Rico. During his years at Law School, Mr. Castellanos founded the first pro-statehood, duly recognized student association called The Legal Students Federalist Society. As expected, Mr. Castellanos became the first President of said organization, taking active participation in promoting academic activities and political debates. Mr. Castellanos' leadership skills were acknowledged and recognized by the Dean of the Law School and now President of the University of Puerto Rico, Mr. Antonio García Padilla. Mr. Padilla awarded Mr. Castellanos a special recognition for his leadership as President of his newly created student organization. It is important to acknowledge that from said organization, numerous leaders evolved and entered into local politics, such as Mr. Leo Díaz, Ms. Zoraida Buxo, Ms. Zoe Laboy, and Mr. Pedro Rosario Urdaz, who became press secretary of Ex-Governor, now Senator and aspiring Gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Pedro Rosselló.

Also, during his years at Law School, Mr. Castellanos began to get involved in active politics, becoming the first communications director of Dr. Pedro Rosselló, who at the time was running for Delegate - Resident Commissioner for the pro-statehood political party called the New Progressive Party, or as it is locally known, the NPP. Also, Mr. Castellanos was named to participate in the Rules and Regulation Committee of the NPP and was also appointed to participate in an organization comprised of different pro-statehood groups. Said appointment was made by Ex-Governor Don Luis A. Ferré, Dr. Pedro Rosselló and Ms. Vicenty, an icon in local Republican politics.

After graduating Law School and passing the local bar exam, Mr. Castellanos continued working as an associate in the legal department inone of Puerto Rico's largest law firms, Martinez, Odell, Calabria & Sierra. In 1992, Mr. Castellanos decided to leave his firm and proceeded to co-direct the political campaign of Calos Díaz Olivo, who ran for Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico in the 1992 general elections. Unfortunately, even though the NPP won the general elections, Mr. Díaz Olivo lost his mayoral bid by approximately 1,700 votes. Many attribute the above defeat to the unexpected and tragic death of the incumbent Mayor's father, Hon. Héctor Luis Acevedo, one week prior to the election.