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‘You have to find humor in dark situations’: San Antonio comedian discusses battle with cancer, Hispanic heritage

Unheard: Larry Garza - Comedian

SAN ANTONIO**Editor’s note - “Unheard: Stories from the Alamo City” is a KSAT feature that gives our viewers the chance to tell their unique stories. The idea is to give a voice to the voiceless. Find more stories like this or share your powerful story on our Unheard page.

For over 15 years Larry Garza has been putting smiles on faces and making people laugh as a comedian in San Antonio.

His work started with a sketch comedy group called Comedia A Go-Go which led to him expanding to solo stand up comedy after his second kid was born.

In 2016, Garza had to stop working after being diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer.

“Originally it was in my kidney and lung and then it moved to my brain,” Garza said. “In 2019, it moved back to my left kidney and then it came back this past May.”

Garza is not letting his diagnosis get him down. He is currently going through immunotherapy with hopes to find out soon if the tumors have shrunk.

“You have to find humor in dark situations or else the darkness gets darker and you’ll never see the light,” Garza said.

With the support of his family and friends, he hopes to get back on a stage again, continue his work on his podcast and inspire other young comedians.

Recently, Garza’s work in the San Antonio comedy scene earned him a spot on KSAT.com’s “25 Influential Latinos in San Antonio” list.

“Being an influential Hispanic, Latinx, Chicano whatever you want to call it really means a lot to me because I know that I represent a lot of people, especially in San Antonio, that don’t fit that mold that the country feels that we are,” Garza said.

For more on Larry Garza you can watch the video above or follow him on Instagram or his YouTube channel.

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About the Author
Erica Hernandez headshot

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

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