He was born in Olivença, but little else is known of his life, including the dates of his birth and death. As a composer he wrote a number of choral works, including motets and a madrigal (music), but he is better known by far for his work as a theorist. In a 1551 debate in Rome, he espoused traditional views on the role of the three genera in music (diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic) over more radical ones put forward by Nicola Vicentino (Lusitano was deemed to have won the debate). His Introdutione facilissima et novissima de canto ferma (1553), contains an introduction to music, a section on improvised counterpoint, and his views on the three genera.