Ciro Hurtado's early musical career began during his high school years in Lima, where he performed in music festivals, theater recitals, weddings, birthdays, and even funerals. At this time, Lima was experiencing a revival of traditional music, while the radio airwaves were saturated with Rock & Roll. These two forces are the major influences on his musical style. He immigrated to the U.S. and studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology. Over the course of a four-year stint with the renowned guitar ensemble Strunz and Farah, he performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Vancouver Folk Festival in Canada, the Havana Classical Guitar Festival in Cuba, the Kennedy Center, and on a tour of Peru. He recorded with them on the audiophile album "Misterio" for the label Water Lily Acoustics.

 Ciro was one of the founding members and the musical director of the Latin American folk jazz ensemble, Huayucaltia. He has toured extensively in the United States and Peru with them, opening for artists such as Jackson Browne, Sting, Holly Near, and Carlos Vives. He has recorded and co-produced seven albums with the band. Huayucaltia has performed at many of the most important performance venues in Southern California. On September 11, 2003, Huayucaltia performed the "Misa Criolla" by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez at the Hollywood Bowl to critical acclaim. In December 2004, Huayucaltia performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as part of the Annual Holiday Performance. In 2007 and 2009, Huayucaltia performed "Misa Criolla" and "Navidad Nuestra," respectively, with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall to sold-out audiences. In June 2012, Huayucaltia presented the world premiere of the piece written for the band and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, “The Singing Mountaineers,” by renowned composer Gabriela Lena Frank. The same piece was also performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in June 2014, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Chorale.

Ciro Hurtado has released thirteen albums under his own name: In My Mind, Tales From Home, The Magic Hour, Guitarra, Echoes of the Andes, Guitarrista, Los Angeles Blues, Ayahuasca Dreams, Selva, Altiplano, Luna, and Paisajes. The first five recordings mostly featured ensemble music with a few solo guitar tracks, but the next two primarily featured solo pieces. Guitarrista, Los Angeles Blues, and Selva received international marketing campaigns, found a passionate audience in the world-fusion and new age music genres, went Top 5 on the international Zone Music Reporter Top 100 album airplay chart, and made the lists of the Top 5 best world music albums of the year as named by the radio programmers reporting to ZMR. His production, Ayahuasca Dreams, was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2015. Also, his Album Paisajes was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2024 and a Grammy in 2025. His album Altiplano won the ZMR World Music Award in 2020.

 As a composer, Ciro has scored and participated musically in various feature films and documentaries such as Ron Fricke's classic film "Baraka," "Dead Women in Lingerie," "Max is Missing," "Hope Street," "Monsters," "Peru: The Royal Tour," and "From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks." In addition, he has produced and recorded albums for LA Law's Michele Greene, Conjunto Jardin, Rosalia Leon, and many other talented artists. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious Durfee Master Musician Fellowship.

Ciro's guitar work ranges from traditional Latin American genres to more sophisticated fusion Latin-jazz idioms. His fine command of the instrument borrows from classical techniques as well as alternate plectrum picking for high-intensity solos. His guitar work is the most contemporary sound heard today on the nylon string guitar. Passion, a high melodic sensibility, and musical vision are qualities attributed to his playing. There is no limit to his composition skills, which span from popular lyrical songs to sophisticated, intricate classical-oriented works. Pieces written by Ciro evoke motifs, landscapes, and exciting elements of South American styles and rhythms, placing him among a select generation of Latin American composers.