When Rafael went to Mexico City he wanted to be a soccer player, a player for the América, but he promised he would study to become an accountant. When he arrived in the capital, he started to like architecture. In 1952 he won a painting contest. The piece that gave him the victory was the "Mujer De Jerez", a piece of art done with crayons, since he had no money to buy better things. He won a scholarship of 300 pesos a month. After winning the contest he stated: "I betrayed my father, but I've done good for the country".