Carlos Irizarry studied filmmaking at the University of Puerto Rico but found his passion for bartending in New York City in Havana Central in 2011. In 2013, Carlos started working in La Factoría under the mentorship of Leslie Cofresí and Roberto Berdecía, and he became part of the global community of hospitality, collaborating with bartenders, brands, and the bar community in general, throughout Latin America, Europe, the United States, and Asia. In 2016, Carlos started a new role as General Manager of La Factoría and to this date, oversees the project. This was pivotal in his career, being responsible for the team and operations during two major crises, Hurricane María (2017) and the latest COVID crisis. More recently, Carlos has been working on developing a new location for La Factoría in his hometown of Ponce and building stronger bridges of communication between hospitality workers around the world.