Jean Carlos Santiago Pérez, better known in the music industry as Guaynaa, was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on September 16, 1992.

His stage name “Guaynaa” comes from the Puerto Rican colloquial expression of the same name, which refers to a wealthy or high-society person. Although Jean Carlos comes from a humble family, his friends and family nicknamed him this way because of his outgoing personality and refined style of dress.

Guaynaa completed his elementary and higher education on the island of Puerto Rico. From a young age, he was surrounded by music, with salsa being the genre that accompanied him throughout his childhood through legendary artists such as Chamaco Ramírez, La Fania All Stars, El Gran Combo, Orquesta Zodiac, Ismael Rivera, and Rubén Blades, among others.

This early exposure to music, coupled with the cultural richness of the Island of Enchantment, sparked in him a natural impulse: to write his first songs. During his adolescence, Guaynaa found a form of expression in art, composing songs that he later shared with his classmates, never imagining that he would later dedicate himself entirely to the music industry.

Before discovering his career as a singer-songwriter, Guaynaa excelled as an athlete. He initially dedicated himself to baseball, one of the most popular sports in Puerto Rico, from the age of 6 to 18. Later, his passion for horse racing led him to reside in Boston, Massachusetts, for four years.