He began his artistic education at the San Alejandro academy, but left early and is hence considered ‘self taught’. He put on his first exhibition in 1934, at the Havana Lyceum, beginning a long and fruitful career which included a 1937 collaboration with Mariano Rodríguez and work as a ‘free studies’ teacher of painting and sculpture. After travels in Haiti, Europe and the United States he gave his first show to an overseas audience at Julien Levy’s gallery in New York City in 1945.

In 1950 he worked with Wifredo Lam, Mariano, Martinez Pedro and Amelia Palaez in the village of Santiago de Las Vegas. In 1961 he had meetings with Fidel Castro in the Jose Marti National Library where they discussed culture. Portocarrero received lessons in painting from Nicolás Guillén Landrián. In 1977 he worked for the Japan Women’s Association. In 1979 he worked for UNESCO and AIAP. He knew Peggy Guggenheim.
In the 1980s he was the teacher of Victor Miquel Moreno Piñeiro (Victor Moreno), cousin of Servando Cabrera Moreno.