He was born in Cusco in 1924. Together with his brother Víctor Chambi and other important Peruvian filmmakers, he founded the Cine Club del Cusco. His works reflected the social reality of the people, the peasantry, and indigenous communities, showcasing the Andean universe and its inhabitants. He filmed El Corpus del Cusco (1955), a record of the Catholic celebration of Corpus Christi. The documentary is considered the foundational piece of the so-called Cusco School. His subsequent works, Lucero de Nieve (1957) and Carnaval de Kanas (1956), also achieved international recognition, winning awards at the Reseña de Cine Latinoamericano de Santa Margarita in Italy.