Santiago was born to two loving parents from Michoacán, México, and was raised in the state of Arizona. He attended public schools and graduated from Arizona State University. Sometime during the summer of 2011, he attended a play at Playhouse West, called Meisner written by Jim Jarrett, the last teaching protege of legendary teacher Sanford Meisner and that play changed his life. His dream to act took Santiago to San Francisco where he studied under the watchful eye of Jim Jarrett and Melissa Thompson Esaia.