Lara came through all youth divisions of
Club Deportivo El Nacional, where he played until mid-2006, when he was loaned to
Al-Wakrah SC of
Qatar. He also scored a goal in the
2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against
Argentina, in a 2–0 victory for Ecuador. That same year, he returned to Liga de Quito, where he was part of the squad that won the
2009 Copa Sudamericana, the 2009 and 2010
Recopa Sudamericana, and the 2010 Ecuadorian championship. In 2011, he returned to Club Deportivo El Nacional. That same year, a possible transfer to the Indian club
Euro Musketeers was reported, although it did not materialize. In 2012, he joined
Real Cartagena in Colombia, after having played in clubs in Ecuador, Qatar, and Deportivo Pereira. In 2017, he played for
Mexican club
Dorados de Sinaloa, where he had a brief spell before returning to Ecuador. In 2022, he returned to football after retirement, joining Sociedad Deportiva Rayo in Ecuador’s Segunda Categoría (the third tier of the national league system, organized regionally). In 2025, he played for
Sociedad Atlética Sancor, also in the Segunda Categoría. ==International career==