The Spanish colonization of the New World, during the 16th century and later, brought individuals with the surname Álvarez throughout Latin America. Place names such as Álvarez in Mexico add to the visible evidence of how this surname has spread throughout the Americas. Individuals with this surname are also to be found through out Latin America ( with the highest concentration in Mexico) - raising the probability of how many distant cousins could be united by a DNA project such as this. This project, in its broadest sense, aims to find out just which Álvarez lines are connected and what is the genetic origin of these lines.