Haila was born on 28 January 1974 in Amancio, Las Tunas, Cuba. Her father was hobby-singer and her mother a stylist. She started her musical schooling at age nine in Santiago de Cuba, where she studied dance. At age 15 her family moved to Havana, which stopped her career shortly. There she met the famous son-singer Yaquelín Castellanos, who was very fond of Haila's singing ability. Haila was offered a position in the group Septeto Tradición, which mostly played in the traditional style of the son septetos of the 1920s and '30s. Later she performed in the cabaret Las Avenidas and joined the group Habana Son. With the project Guajira Habanera she had her first foreign performance in 1994 in Mexico. In September 1994 she joined the group Bamboleo as a vocalist,. She recorded two albums with them and performed in different countries, gaining a reputation as a singer.
