In the 1950s, when he was still an amateur, Lucho Barrios was a finalist in a competition called "The Stairway of Triumph" that took place in the theaters in Lima.
She took him to Radio Callao where he met Julio Jaramillo, who was impressed by his voice, and invited him to sing in Ecuador.
In 1957 he entered the National School of Opera, and studied until the age of 19 alongside Alejandro Vivanco, brother-in-law of Yma Sumac.
Then, achieving great fame in Ecuador, Lucho Barrios decided to return to Peru where he continued pumping out hits, which made him a star in all of the Americas.
On 3 May 2010 Barrios was admitted into the emergency room at the National Hospital in Lima, due to a pulmonary embolism.