Vargas was born on May 23 of 1961 in Santa Maria, Dominican Republic, which is a town in the municipality Pepillo Salcedo. He is the son of Ana Victoria Vargas Perez and Juan Bautista Valdez Santana. His grandparents were Angelo Maria Vargas, Amelia Pérez, Nicolas Valdez and Santana Eligia. The latter two were his paternal grandparents. He joined the army at the age of 16. When he left the army, he met a young man named Abila, who was the only one throughout the region played the guitar.