Will Carlos Álvarez run for Mayor of Lima?: comedian talks about his political future, his return to comedy, and reveals anecdotes from the debate

Carlos Álvarez returned to Panamericana TV and, for a moment, time seemed to move backwards. He came back invited by Jorge Benavides to record two sketches together on “JB Noticias,” but the reunion was much more than a television meeting between two figures who marked an era of Peruvian comedy. It was also a return to a place where his story began.

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On that same channel, on set five, Augusto Ferrando discovered him when he was barely 19 years old. There, in the space where “Trampolín a la fama” was once recorded, Álvarez had his first fifteen minutes in front of the cameras. He imitated Mario Vargas Llosa, Alfredo Barnechea, Alfonso Barrantes, Alan García, and Cardinal Landázuri. It was 1984 and, upon leaving the stage, Tulio Loza was already waiting to offer him his first job. Forty years later, he returned to that set and memory did its work.

“Imaginarily I saw the audience, I saw Augusto, Gringa Inga, Violeta, Tribilín, Carvajal, Otto de Rojas. Almost all are gone, they left,” he says with regret. “That day my life changed. It took a 180-degree turn,” he confesses.

Stage Return

The return to Panamericana happened after an intense period for Álvarez. After participating in a presidential campaign, he is also preparing his return to the stage with “Yo fui candidato,” a proposal where he will combine his experience in politics with the characters who were protagonists of this still ongoing electoral process. He says reconnecting with the audience has been a relief.

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“Returning to the stage with my audience is very rewarding and a balm for all the things that happened to me, good and bad. Everything is a learning experience,” he states.

In his new show, he will not only be behind his characters. Carlos Álvarez, the citizen who just went through a political campaign from the inside, will also appear. He will share anecdotes, recall attacks, talk about proposals, and an experience that, according to him, showed him the harshest side of partisan politics.

Álvarez assures that during the campaign he avoided responding to attacks and preferred to focus on his proposals. He says that despite not having large resources, his message managed to reach a wide sector of Peruvians. The cost, however, was high, especially for his family and closest circle.

“It reached a terrible low. For example, YouTubers and these social media characters insulted the candidates and their mothers. They even attacked my deceased mother. And that is an issue I will settle with that person in due time. These were very harsh things,” he details. “I apologized to my family and closest circles because they suffered the most from all this.”

Without a Mask

To describe his political experience, Álvarez resorts to a phrase attributed to Czech writer Franz Kafka: entering the campaign was, he says, like arriving at a costume party without a mask and without a costume. In that scenario, he admits that his political inexperience may have led him to make “mistakes,” although he clarifies that, for him, those mistakes had to do with telling the truth and stating what he wanted to do for the country.

“I felt out of place, that I didn’t fit in. However, if I had the chance to enter that costume party again, I would still go without a mask and without a costume. I prefer to be real and not fit in than to fit in and not be real,” he maintains.

That disenchantment does not mean, he assures, that he will detach from his ideas or from those who believed in him. Although he does not confirm if he will run again, he also does not completely close the door.

“I was an artist for 42 years and never imagined I would be a presidential candidate. The opportunity arose and I took it to serve my country, not to fill my pockets or promise what I was not going to fulfill. My banner was always to pacify Peru. I don’t know yet what will happen,” he points out.

Álvarez assures he remains affiliated with País para Todos, although he avoids revealing decisions. Regarding a possible candidacy for the Mayor of Lima, he says he would only consider it if the party formally proposes it to him.

“It is a matter I would have to evaluate if they formally propose it to me, because it is another reality and a different responsibility. I respect the opinion of the party president, Vladimir Meza, but there has been no direct conversation with me. It has been his opinion to the media, nothing more,” he clarifies.

The possibility of returning to an electoral contest, this time with his own party, is also not completely ruled out. Álvarez says many of his followers and voters have suggested it to him.

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“It is a possibility that should be evaluated at the right time, but not to do the same as the usual politicians. I said I would not continue as a traditional politician, but I continue doing politics as a citizen and I will never abandon my voters,” he asserts.

Which Party Will He Support?

The second round also places him before an immediate political decision. Keiko Fujimori, from Fuerza Popular, and Roberto Sánchez, from Juntos por el Perú, will compete in the presidential runoff, according to the official results proclaimed by the JNE. Álvarez assures he has had no approaches with either party and avoids revealing whom he will support. He says he respects the popular will but also distances himself from both proposals.

“There has been no conversation at all with Mr. Sánchez or Mrs. Fujimori or their parties. That is what the Peruvians wanted and I respect it because I am respectful of the popular will and democracy. We are studying the scenario, but I have differences with both proposals. I will never be with a mercantilist and rent-seeking right that has plundered Peru, nor with a radical left that destroys institutions, the economy, or destabilizes the Central Reserve Bank. There are things to reform, but a middle ground must be found,” he states.

Reinvented Laughter

For now, his most concrete return is in humor. With Jorge Benavides, he recorded two sketches: one of Father Maritín, a character they hadn’t done in almost fifteen years, and another about the presidential debate. The inevitable question is whether that reunion could open the door to a new program together.

“I don’t know what will happen later. For now, we haven’t talked about that possibility. Our followers ask for it, and I appreciate it,” he says.

Álvarez knows that social media has accelerated times, the country is different, and television no longer has the monopoly on laughter. That is why, if he returned to the screen, he says he would not do it with the same formula as before.

“Humor has changed, it has evolved in some cases, it has devolved in others. We cannot do the humor of 2001 or ‘El especial del humor.’ It must be modernized,” he points out. “I have to reinvent humor in my case.”

Political Anecdotes

That relationship between humor and politics also left him some unexpected scenes during the campaign. One of them happened during the presidential debate, when he improvised a parody of César Acuña. Álvarez assures he hadn’t planned it, but a phrase from the leader of Alianza para el Progreso came to mind in which he said he didn’t want to be president.

“It wasn’t a joke, it was the truth. Everyone laughed and people liked it a lot. When we went to commercials, César approached me and said: ‘Thank you, because you are campaigning for me’,” he recalls. According to him, Rafael López Aliaga also congratulated him because, with that intervention, he broke the tense atmosphere of the debate.

With Fernando Olivera, presidential candidate for Frente de la Esperanza, the story had a different tone. Álvarez recalls that his imitation of ‘Popi’ catapulted him as a humorist, although during the campaign Olivera questioned the character. The comedian says he took those insults with humor and that, when they met before a debate, he greeted him expecting a harsher reaction.

“I thought he would beat me up,” he says laughing. But Olivera responded cordially: “Hello, Carlos, how are you? Tonight we won’t fight, right?” Álvarez replied no, because they were not scheduled to debate together. “Oh, okay, then we’re good,” Olivera said.

Carlos Álvarez returns from the electoral contest with wounds, yes, but also with material. Politics gave him blows, but also valuable stories. It left him anger, learning, and a closer look at the country he says he has traveled many times, both through his artistic work and his humanitarian efforts.

“I got to know the misery of my country very closely, but at the same time that desire to move forward, that hope that was never lost,” he says.

Today he returns to the stage with the experience of someone who was in the audience but also at the center of the political function. And from there, from laughter, he continues trying to understand Peru.