Elia was born March 22, 1953 and Elizabeth, May 29, 1954, both in Bogotá, the eldest of three sisters and a brother of Spanish parents. Their family moved to Barranquilla when they were little, and at the age of 5 and 6 they began guitar lessons. They were granddaughters of Spanish tenor Miguel Fleta, whose daughters Elia y Paloma Fleta also formed a duo, which achieved fame in the fifties, and their mother's parents sang and their grandmother played the piano.