Manny García grew up on Salt Lake City’s west side in a tight-knit, working-class neighborhood where diversity was prevalent, and the people there were humble regardless of their economic conditions. His family is rooted mainly in Oklahoma and Mexico since his mother was born in Oklahoma to Mexican immigrant grandparents. Manny’s grandfather worked for a railroad company, and his father worked in construction in some western states, constantly on the move. With Manny living under impoverished conditions, unfortunately, shortcuts sometimes had to be made for daily essentials, such as for health issues. Manny is an optimist, regardless of the hardships, and he keeps moving forward the best he can.

He loves golf and loves education, being a standout student at West High School, graduating in 1962. Manny also loved playing the trumpet. He was a strong runner and wrestler, but the trumpet became more his calling. Even through his economic challenges, he was blessed with opportunities. For example, he got free trumpet lessons from his LDS band teacher. Manny would go on to perform with community ensembles and even sit in with the Utah Symphony once in his youth. He also played in a Mexican dance band and later became an avid jazz and vinyl enthusiast. He has run 15 marathons total. 

Manny first attended the University of Utah on scholarship, majoring in music before switching to business with a focus on marketing. He finished his degree at Westminster because of better opportunities offered to him by another friend. He later began an MBA but paused it when his wife faced a life-threatening diabetic crisis, and he always put family first.

His career tracks the evolution of American communications and computing. After training at Weltech College (an electronics school in Sugar House) and an early stint in California tech, Manny came back to Utah, was drafted during the Vietnam era, and became an AT&T technician in the Bell System post-war.

In the mid-1980s, he left because of complications within the company, and he accepted a severance and moved into technical marketing/consulting with the Harris company. He then worked briefly for First Security Bank in Salt Lake County. His capstone role was at the University of Utah Hospital, and he managed hardware installations in the IT department.