ABOUT Aiona Santana
biography
Aiona Santana is a Venezuelan artist, singer, songwriter, and actress whose life’s work is rooted in a deep love for music, storytelling, and cultural connection. Born to Venezuelan parents who kept their culture alive at home despite the challenges of immigrating, Aiona was raised across Belgium, Venezuela, and Canada. Her parents worked tirelessly to give her and her sister a better life — and it’s that foundation of sacrifice, strength, and heritage that gave Aiona the freedom to pursue her dream of becoming a singer.
From a young age, she was surrounded by music — dancing Venezuelan folklore, performing at community events, and feeling like an outsider in new countries, yet always finding belonging in her art. Her parents enrolled her in voice, piano, guitar, dance, and music theory lessons, driving her straight from school to classes every day. While other kids played outside, Aiona was in rehearsal rooms, studios, and practice spaces — a routine she never left behind.
Knowing her purpose was to move people through art, she attended an arts-focused high school for dramatic arts, then went on to earn a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Carleton University in Ottawa, where she also studied composition and songwriting. Her training gave her the technical foundation — but it was the rhythms of her heritage and the emotion of her lived experience that gave her voice.
After completing her studies, she moved to Toronto alone to fully pursue her career — working a full-time corporate job by day and recording, writing, and performing by night. It was a grind, but she never lost sight of her vision. Every step forward was powered by persistence, purpose, and the dream planted in her heart since childhood.
Her breakthrough came in 2022. Since then, Aiona has traveled and performed internationally, completing media tours across Mexico, Panama, Argentina, and Colombia, alongside performances in Venezuela and Colombia. From local community shows at age 13 to nightclub tours across Medellín promoting her early releases, her growth has been constant and unstoppable.
She now performs on some of Latin music’s most iconic stages, including a 70,000-person crowd at El Zócalo in Mexico City and 40,000 at Canada’s largest Latin music festival, Fuego Fuego. She has opened for Blessd in Ottawa and El Alfa in Toronto, and will return to Fuego Fuego Festival in May 2025 — one of her most anticipated performances to date. In 2021, she was awarded “Best New Artist – Revelation of the Year” at the Latin Awards Canada, and in 2024, she was nominated for Female Artist of the Year — a testament to her rising influence and artistry.
Her genre-blending style flows between Reggaeton, Latin Pop, R&B, and traditional Latin sounds like Merengue, Bachata, and Venezuelan Tambor. Writing and performing in multiple languages, Aiona has become known for her emotional depth and lyrical precision — both in her solo work and collaborations.
Her growing catalogue includes singles like “Donde Hubo Fuego,” “La Santa,” “Fronteo,” “Bambú,” and “Te Lo Dije,” as well as collaborations such as “Mentiras” with Landy García and “Que Dios Te Cuide” with Esco. More collaborations are on the way.
Aiona Santana is part of a new wave of Latin artists expanding the sound and soul of the genre — building a body of work that reflects her journey, her culture, and her voice. Through music and art, she continues to inspire, connect, and transcend borders.