CIRO HURTADO, "Cantando en El Camino"

Bookending an extraordinary year that began with a Best Global Music Album Grammy nomination for his 2024 recording Paisajes, legendary Peruvian composer and guitar virtuoso  Ciro Hurtado’s artfully rendered, gracefully lyrical yet majestically symphonic single “Cantando en El Camino” earned a well-deserved nod for a 2026 Best Global Music Performance Grammy in a category that includes world music greats Bad Bunny, Angélique Kidjo and Anoushka Shankar.

A lushly produced masterwork of sweet nostalgia, unbridled sensuality and intoxicating romantic desire featuring esteemed vocalist Mariel Henry, “Cantando en El Camino” (which translates to “singing along the way”) is the modern Peruvian styled equivalent to the bossa nova classic “The Girl From Ipanema,” blending mesmerizing Afro-Peruvian landó rhythms with contemporary sounds and a rich chamber music aesthetic while weaving - in and around Hurtado’s elegant and intricate trademark acoustic guitar lines - images of long gazes, mist around a river, long hair, brown skin, bare feet, mysterious strides and a heartfelt sense of destiny. Through it all, through the mist of fleeting love and illusions grafted onto memory, the song keeps a positive spirit…singing along the way…

In the soul-stirring instrumental interludes between Henry’s expressive, deeply emotional (and truly sexy!) verses, Hurtado engages in a seductive, swaying dance with his cohorts, weaving his colorful guitar lines into a dynamic tapestry with Gigio Parodi’s cajón and percussion, Alexa Ramirez’s cello and Yeisy Rojas’ violin. After Henry completes the second verse, she joins forces with the swelling four-part harmonies of Ramirez, Rojas and two other female vocalists who “canta” “Yo camino, Yo camino” like a lovelorn mantra. Hurtado follows with a beautifully spirited solo, then gives way to the most dramatic part of the track – a true symphonic fusion featuring his own intense improvisations amidst a rising swirl of vocalizations, violin, cello and Julio Ledezma’s charango.    

The production of “Caminando en el Camino” is truly a striking international affair built on collaborations with musicians from Argentina, Cuba-Norway, Germany, Mexico, Peru, the U.S. and Uruguay. The studio credits read like a travelogue, with Henry recording her vocals in Mexico City, Rojas performing in Oslo, Parodi in Lima and Ramirez in Los Angeles.

Highly regarded for his masterful guitar work and seamlessly blending traditional Andean styles with modern influences like rock, blues, and jazz, Ciro Hurtado is one of the founding members and longtime musical director of the Latin American folk jazz ensemble Huayucaltia (which recently celebrated their 40th anniversary). He has toured extensively in the U.S. and Peru with them, opening for the likes of Jackson Browne, Sting, Holly Near and Carlos Vives. In addition to his two recent Grammy nominations, Hurtado’s albums Ayahuasca Dreams and Paisajes were nominated for Latin Grammy Awards in 2015 and 2024.