García was born in Holguín to parents of Cuban Criollo descent; his maternal surname Iñíguez, indicates descendence from Iñigo Arista, Basque King whose forces are referred to as demons in the Song of Roland. He was a large, strong, educated man with a short fuse. García was the grandson of Calixto García de Luna e Izquierdo, who had fought in the Battle of Carabobo in what is now called Venezuela. His grandmother was Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez, said to be the daughter of a Cacique Chief from Valencia Venezuela. His grandfather (who had dropped the aristocratic "de Luna" upon taking refuge in Cuba) had been jailed on March 18, 1837 for demanding emancipation of slaves, constitutional freedom for all, and allegedly trying to hang a priest who opposed him. As befitted a man of importance