[1] Born to a middle-class family from the eastern end of Cuba, Santí emigrated to the United States in October 1962, shortly after the Cuban Revolution.

[2] Raised in Miami, educated at Vanderbilt and Yale, he obtained his PhD at the latter institution, where he studied alongside scholars José Juan Arrom and Emir Rodríguez Monegal.

[7][8] His translations have appeared in many journals and, recently, in a book of poems by Ricardo Pau-Llosa, titled Intruder Between Rivers / Intruso entre ríos.

[10] In 2019, the Pomona Latino Art Museum featured his wooden sculptures as part of a group exhibition titled "Mes de la Hispanidad".

[15] Santí has also been the recipient of life-achievement awards from the Southern California Cuban-American Cultural Institute (1999), Patronato José Martí (2000), Mexico's CONACULTA (2005) and Sigma Delta Pi, Hispanic Honor Society (2010).