2023-11-12 00:05:00
There is a lot of light in José Peláez’s apartment. It doesn’t hold that many things, just a large colorful painting in which you can read something about love. The protagonists of the office, where we are talking, are the microphones with which he records the video podcast he has on running on YouTube, although framed photos of urban environments compete for attention. Streets through which he could have calmly jogged. He had a tea during the 60 minutes we chatted, and, shortly before finishing, he took out a transparent bag from an almost perfectly organized shelf. There lie newspaper clippings in which he appears. He shows them to me. Dad gathered some; too, mom. They aren’t many, but they are everything. The oldest dates back to October 6, 2004. It is titled “The Debutantes” and tells of the premiere of “Mañana te Cuenta”, the film in which she acted at the age of 16. Others are observed about his time at university in Spain and various projects. That small plastic bag matters because it helps to remember various life experiences that, two decades later, would make him one of the most beloved and popular television hosts in Peru. Perhaps that is also the fate of these six pages in which he talks with Somos.
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Peláez is very kind. He possesses what the Spanish call ‘duende’, a charisma as legitimate as it is scarce. He talks frantically with his hands and has an abandoned LinkedIn account, which he enabled until the time he worked in marketing and BTL in Lima, after returning from living eight years in Europe, where he studied Business Administration. So, he worked hard on plan B. That is, being on some payroll to pay the bills and thus be able to comply with plan A: getting involved in the performing arts. Programming himself all the time, that’s how he says it works. There was a time early in his time on this planet when financial limitations were severe, and setting long-term goals is the most effective way he knows to prevent them from returning. He no longer sells to be seen on airplanes, nor is he a radio host. Today he levitates with the dream role of being the face of that phenomenon that has once again reunited Peruvian families in front of the television called “The Great Chef: Famous”. Hence, dressed in colorful suits or sneakers, life flows well.
Peláez said no to hosting “The Great Chef: Celebrities” at first, as it intersected with sporting goals. Finally, the schedules were fixed. The show is in its fourth season.
The program has been on the air for six months. Has your life changed significantly since then?
Mmm… I still live in the same place, loving the same girl, frequenting the same places, visiting my mother every Sunday and having the same passion for running and seeing the world. The pillars of my life remain intact. What has happened is that, out of nowhere, I am doing something that I love very much. For half a year, I have been going every day to a creative space that for me is a sacred temple.
How does popularity affect you?
Well, there has definitely been a loss of anonymity. He feels a little strange, but I take fondly and gratefully to record greetings, for example. Anyway, I’m back in therapy. It is important to have your feet on the ground.
The success of the program must have affected you in other professional aspects.
Yes. I am hosting more events and actions and charging more for it. But I have clear rules regarding doing things in a balanced way. You see, I operate as if it were a company. Peláez EIRL, let’s say. Today I manage my time better to work and also to nourish myself with what I love, from my sport. Work is important, but mental health is more important. So, I organize myself so as not to collapse.
As a running enthusiast, his goal is to run as many marathons as he can around the world. Here in one made in Germany.
Has it happened to you already?
Yes, I worked four years on the radio non-stop. I only had ten days of vacation a year and I used them to continue working. I loved what I did, until one day I didn’t. To the extent possible, you must be spiritually well. Seeking well-being is a priority for me.
As a manager, you became interested in a business. You tried to have an açaí brand. What happened?
That was something very brief, which did not prosper. It happened just before the program started, and the processes were also complicated. But I still believe that the future lies in well-being. Since the pandemic, people are realizing how important it is to be well. And the world, as we know it, is not geared toward making us feel that way.
Running gives you well-being. Was your father’s departure the only trigger to start?
He wasn’t the only one, but yes, at the beginning, running connected me a lot with him. What specifically happened was that one day in 2017, Jonathan Maicelo came on the radio and forced me to do exercises. At 30 years old, and with habits of smoking and sucking, I couldn’t do anything, imagine. I decided to start boxing and trained in the park. In those practices, he warmed up and cooled down by running, and I realized that he was the weakest part of the process. I thought I could do it alone and for free. And that’s how I started.
“Tomorrow I tell you,” a Peruvian film released in 2005, was his first professional experience as an actor. He returned from Spain to Lima to also record the sequel.
How do you feel when you finish a race?
Tremendously alive. I feel like only the present matters. Physically, endorphins known as endogenous opioids are activated. A free and natural drug that does you good. I have not found a sensation that compares to it. There are those who do it with orgasms. I don’t know if it’s close, but it’s longer. [ríe].
How many marathons have you run?
The official 42 kilometers: five. The first was just before the pandemic. The last one a little while ago in Chicago. The plan is to do as many as I can.
“I try to live my life under the stoic philosophy that dictates that we do not have control over what happens to us, but we do have the power to give 100% of ourselves in any commitment or company,” he narrates.
You get up, you journal, you run, you work. Routines drive away anxiety. Do you overthink everything?
Oops, yes, uff. Less and less, thanks to all that, but I still think about things a lot. And I also look for spaces for myself. The cell phone sleeps in another room, for example. Notifications are completely disabled. There are so many stimuli that do not contribute anything to us… But there are always exit options. We are fine, happily.
The future looks bright, then.
I’m super excited about what’s coming. I feel fulfilled. However, this is the result of fighting for it for 19 years. The beginning is in these newspaper clippings… I just want to continue doing things that nourish my spirit. Am I on the wave now? Yes. But if it ends tomorrow, I’m also prepared. That whatever has to happen. I have much more than I asked for. //
Besides…
In the voice of Peláez
On acting: “I would love to act in films. Anyway, I don’t despair: if it comes, fine. In any case, I approach driving from acting. I feel like I’m playing a character I created for ‘The Great Chef’, which is 99.99% me. So, that thirst for performing is completely quenched now.”
Gacelas Podcast: “I am a content creator and I have focused on sharing information and inspiration so that people are encouraged to run. Obviously, I look for sponsorships as if it were a radio or TV program, but we are doing well. It’s on YouTube, for anyone who wants to catch up.”
The habit of ‘journaling’: “For two years, I have been writing every morning, shortly after 5 am and before going out for a run, three pages a day as a diary. Exercise helps me connect with myself and enjoy the present.”
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