Darío Aguirre was born in 1979 in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and grew up in Ambato. From 1996 to 1999, he worked as a painter, musician and performance artist, taking part in various art projects in Ecuador. In 1999, he moved to Germany and in 2001 began studying Visual Communication & Media at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg (HfbK). He is known for the documentaries Cesar's Grill (2013), Land of My Children (2018) and Five Ways to Dario (2010).