Laureano Márquez

Laureano Olegario Márquez Pérez (born 4 July 1963 in the Canary Islands) is a Spanish-born Venezuelan humorist and political scientist. He was born on the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, in 1963, and obtained a BA in Political Science from the Central University of Venezuela.

As an actor, he has played leading roles on radio and television, such as in Radio Rochela (“Rochela Radio”), Humor a Primera Vista (“Humor at First Sight”), and Que Broma Tan Seria (“What a Serious Joke”), and has written and performed in several plays, including La Reconstituyente (“The Reconstituent”), El Pantaletazo (“The Panty Flash”), and Laureamor y Emidilio. He is a writer of columns for several publications, among them the newspapers El Nacional and Tal Cual, and won the El Mejor Artículo Humorístico (“The Best Humorous Article”) prize for best humorous article in 2001. He has written the humorous books Se sufre pero se goza (“One Suffers but Enjoys”), El Código Bochinche (“The Bochinche Code”) and Amorcito corazón (“Little Love, Heart”). In 2014, he performed his monologue Sit Down.

Known for his use of satire and prose to poke fun at Venezuelan politicians, he was fined in 2007 by local courts after writing a satirical letter addressed to Hugo Chávez’s daughter. In 2010, he won an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, an award given to journalists who show courage in defending press freedom in the face of attacks, threats or imprisonment.