Aguilera was born in Staten Island, New York, to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army at the time and Shelly Loraine Fidler, a teacher of Spanish language. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, while her mother is of Irish[13] descent (Christina's maternal grandmother emigrated from County Clare.)[14] Her father, Fausto, was stationed at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland, Canada and Japan.