She then entered the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música, where she studied harmony, counterpoint, piano, and music history.
Her instructors there included Abraham Jurafsky, Roberto García Morillo, Pedro Sáenz Amadeo [es], Gilardo Gilardi, and Rafael González.
She also took lessons from Alberto Ginastera, and in 1967 and 1968 was a pupil at the Centro Latinoamericano de Altos Estudios Musicales [es].
During her career she has taught harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música and at the Santa Ana Institute in Buenos Aires.
As a composer Benavente has produced a number of works for orchestra; she has also composed for chamber forces, for piano, for voice, and for chorus, and has been active in the realm of electronic music as well.