Jorge Benavides

Jorge Luis Luren Benavides Gastello (born April 9, 1967), also known as JB, is a Peruvian actor, impressionist, comedian, producer, and director who has been working on comedy programs in his country since the 1980s. His career began on Trampolín a la fama as a guest, then on Risas y salsa. He rose to prominence again in the 1990s with comedy programs he created himself: JB noticias, La paisana Jacinta, El especial del humor (originally Los inimitables), JB en Willax, El wasap de JB, and JB en ATV.

In 1984, Jorge became acquainted with television sets, appearing in four programs in the late 1980s on América Televisión: El Enchufe, JB, el imitador, El barrio en movimiento, and the legendary show hosted by presenter Yola Polastri, Hola Yola. Three years later, in 1987, he met fellow comedian and actor Carlos Vílchez, and by 1994 they launched this comedy program under the name JB noticias, which had a long and successful run on Frecuencia Latina with part of the cast from their previous shows.^[1] Despite the initial success of JB Noticias due to the popularity of the cast, sketches, and characters created by Benavides—such as La paisana Jacinta—the program ended in 2001 due to low ratings. However, the sketch La paisana Jacinta became an independent show.^[2]

La paisana Jacinta ended in 2002. Benavides and his friend, comedian Carlos Álvarez, joined forces and, in 2004, created the character imitation and parody program El especial del humor, featuring nationally and internationally famous figures. The following year, new episodes were recorded for a second season of La paisana Jacinta, with the word paisana (hillbilly) removed from the show's title. However, after allegations of racism, the season's premiere was canceled.^[3] Carlos Álvarez left El especial del humor in 2011, and many other actors who had previously worked with Benavides joined the program, such as Carlos Vílchez,^[4] Enrique Espejo,^[5] Lucecita Ceballos,^[6] Manolo Rojas,^[7] Felpudini,^[8] and his brother Alfredo Benavides. The show continued to air until 2014.^[9]

After a brief period on Willax Televisión with the program JB en Willax, in 2016 the show El wasap de JB premiered on Latina Televisión, running until 2020. In 2021, the program JB en ATV premiered on ATV,^[10] which lasted until 2025.^[11]

Jorge is the son of Alfredo Benavides Prado and Cecilia Gastello. He has four siblings: Patricia, Carlos, Alfredo, and Christian.^[12] Alfredo is also a comedian and performed on Risas y salsa,^[13] while Christian had appearances in JB noticias, La paisana Jacinta, and El especial del humor, as well as serving as a producer for the latter until 2009.^[14] Jorge was married to Colombian vedette Athala Meza, with whom he had a daughter, Sol Isis Jahaira (born 1993).^[15] He remarried on April 24, 2009, this time to dancer and co-producer of El wasap de JB, Karin Marengo Núñez, his current partner, with whom he has two children.^[16][17]