Ciruelo Cabral was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born with color blindness. At age 13 Cabral enrolled in Instituto Fernando Fader, an art school, where he began his formal studies. He started working as illustrator at age 18 for a graphic advertising company, and soon after began doing comic covers. In 1987 he moved to Barcelona, Spain where he drew fantasy books' covers and inside drawings for Timun Mas, a publisher that specializes in the genre.