Armando was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in 1977 to Cuban parents. In 1980, the Riescos moved to the metropolitan area of San Juan. He attended Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola high school, where he was mentored by his English teacher Fr. Francis Golden. After graduation, Armando went on to pursue a degree in theatre -- under the tutelage of David Downs -- with a minor in Latin American Studies, from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. During those years he also taught acting to high school students at TASIS England in the outskirts of London. He stayed in Chicago for two years after graduating where he worked in theater at Victory Gardens (Stupid Kids), Aboutface Theater (Four, Bash), Lookingglass Theatre (Eleven Rooms of Proust by Mary Zimmerman), and Steppenwolf Garage (This is our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan). Following his performance in Four by Christopher Shinn, Armando was asked to reprise the role of Dexter at the Tribeca Playhouse in New York City. After garnering wonderful reviews from the New York press, the play moved to the Manhattan Theater Club in 2002.

Since then, Armando has worked in several film and television productions, including 25th Hour with Spike Lee and Barry Pepper, Pieces of April with Derek Luke, Garden State with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, National Treasure with Harvey Keitel, and Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon. The indie film Waltzing Anna is yet to be released. He is now once again filming alongside Keitel for ABC's miniseries on 9/11 events: Untitled History Project.

On television, he has been a guest on Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Third Watch, which are filmed in his adopted and beloved New York. His voice can be heard on radio and television in a variety of commercial spots in Spanish and English for Heineken, Jackson Hewitt, McDonalds, Champs Sports, Arena Football League, Speed Stick, U.S. Air Force, Nautica, Dos Equis, Ameritech, and Verizon to name a few.

Armando has also been lucky enough to work alongside Samuel Jackson and Chris Penn on the hit video game by Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He is also in GTA: Vice City, Midnight Club 2, and The Warriors, coming out in October 2005.

Armando is an avid fan of spoken word poetry and storytelling. His piece "Vuelta" was selected by HBO Latino in 2003 for the half hour special Habla. Another piece developed alongside Christopher Shinn and directed by Marc Brokaw, "Lakeera", took Armando to the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. In 2005, he also recorded for the CBS Pilot "3 lbs.," which is now being considered for the 2006 season, and was named one of the Top 10 Actors to Watch for 2005 at the San Diego Film Festival.

Credit: armandoriesco.com