born and raised in maracaibo, zulia, aparicio came from a family whose name is synonymous with baseball in venezuela. he was the son of leónidas aparicio and adelina ortega, who introduced their children to sport activities within the local community at an early age. as a result, the young luis excelled both in soccer and track and field before deciding to play baseball. besides, his older brother ernesto developed into a successful baseball manager, coach and team owner, while his son luis jr. spent 18 years in the major leagues and is a baseball hall of fame member.