Polo Polo, Mexican comedian, dies at 78

Polo Polo, a Mexican comedian who won over hearts and belly laughs with his NSFW humor, has died. He was 78. 

The comedian, born Leopoldo García Peláez Benítez, died Monday morning of natural causes, his son Paul García told TV Azteca’s “Ventaneando” Monday.

García said his father spent his final days surrounded by his loved ones.

“He was always protected by his family. My sister was attentive to him all the time,” García said in Spanish. “He never wanted to be placed in an institution. He always wanted us to take care of him.”

USA TODAY has reached out to Polo Polo’s representative for further details. 

Despite his cause of death, García also shared that Polo Polo struggled with vascular dementia, a condition in which impaired blood flow to the brain causes brain damage that can lead to “problems with reasoning, planning, judgment, memory and other thought processes,” according to Mayo Clinic.

Polo Polo made his comic debut in the 1970s, later releasing his debut album “Viaje a España” (“Trip to Spain”). Prior to this, the comedian worked in a factory as a shoemaking businessman, an environment that García said helped him hone his comedy chops.