Ana Luisa Garcia was born on 22 August 1913, in the town of Cidra, Puerto Rico. She was the eighth of twelve siblings born to parents Ramón García and María Vázquez. As a child, her family moved to the town of San Lorenzo. Four of her sisters were teachers, which inspired her to become one as well.

Garcia received her higher education at a pedagogy school, where she studied for two years before graduating. In 1933, at the age of 20, she began working as a schoolteacher in Patillas, making her commute to school every day either by foot or horseback. She retired as a teacher in 1965, but she has never tired of learning, reading newspapers and books as of today.

Ana Luisa Garcia currently lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico with her daughter, pianist and composer Awilda Villarini (born 1940).