 Varela was born in Caracas where he studied musical composition, electronic music and piano at the National Conservatory of Music Juan José Landaeta, obtaining a degree in composition in 1987.Afterwards, he studied composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (Composition Prize in 1993) and electronic music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.Among his teachers are Antonio Mastrogiovanni, Eduardo Kusnir, Geert van Keulen, Ton de Leeuw, Louis Andriessen, Theo Loevendie, John Coolidge Adams and Trevor Wishart.