Born in Peru, illustrator, artist, and printmaker Carlos Llerena Aguirre holds an M.F.A., in Art & Design, an A.M., in Art Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , an M.A. in Graphics from Hunter College C.U.N.Y, and a B.F.A. in Advertising Design from the School of Visual Arts. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts, Philadelphia University of the Arts, Syracuse University, California College of Arts and Crafts, University of California at Berkeley, Ringling School of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He is currently a tenured professor at the University of Miami. He has represented both Peru and the United States with his woodcuts in numerous international exhibitions.