Eva Perón

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Evita's image appeared on a wide variety of products, including stamps, coins, postcards and calendars. This 1954 postage stamp commemorated the second anniversary of her "passing into immortality".
Evita's image appeared on a wide variety of products, including stamps, coins, postcards and calendars. This 1954 postage stamp commemorated the second anniversary of her "passing into immortality".

María Eva Duarte de Perón (commonly known by the affectionate diminutive Evita) (May 7, 1919July 26, 1952) was the First Lady of Argentina and the second wife of President Juan Domingo Perón (18951974). She has been described by Maryssa Navarro and Nicholas Fraser as being the most mythologized public figure of modern times.

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Eva's childhood

María Eva Duarte was born in Los Toldos, a Buenos Aires Province. She was one of five illegitimate but recognized children born to an unwed cook, Juana Ibarguren (1894–1971), ranch owner Juan Duarte (1872-1926). As a child, Eva Perón and was reared in nearby Junín.

Eva moves to Buenos Aires

At age 15, Eva Duarte travelled to Buenos Aires. There is some contoversy about how she arrived, with the most popular version being that she was brought to the big city by Augostin Magaldi (this is the version put forth in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Evita"), and with others saying that there is indication that she arrived in Buenos Aires by aid of her mother.

Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, Eva Duarte was faced with the difficulties of surviving without formal education and without connections. After years of struggle, she eventually found work as a radio and film actress, eventually starring in B-grade movie melodramas and Radio El Mundo soap operas. She eventually came to co-own the radio company and she was considered to be a talented radio actress. She regularly appeared on a popular historical-drama programme Great Women of History in which she played Elizabeth I of England, Sarah Bernhardt and the last Tsarina of Russia. Her personal favourite movie was the 1938 epic Marie Antoinette, starring Norma Shearer.

Relationship with Juan Peron

Eva Duarte met Colonel Juan Perón at a charity event to raise funds for the victims of San Juan earthquake. She and Perón married on October 21, 1945. After her marriage to Juan Perón, all of Eva's movies were banned from being shown in Argentina. During this period in Argentine history, politicians were not expected to socialize with entertainers -- particularly entertainers born out-of-wedlock and who worked in soap operas.

Shortly after his marrige to Eva, Juan Perón was arrested by his opponents within the government who feared that due to the strong support of the descamisados, the workers and the poor of the nation, Perón's popularity might eclipse that of the sitting president.

Eva has often been credited with organizing the rally of thousands that freed Juan Perón from prison on October 17, 1945. This version of events was popularized in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Evita". Most historians, however, agree that this is not likely. At the time of Perón's imprisonment, Eva was still merely an actress, she had no political clout with the various unions that supported Perón, and she was not well liked within Perón's inner circle nor was she liked by many within the film and radio business at this point. When Juan Perón was imprisoned, Eva Perón was suddenly without support from most. (Letters between the two during Juan Perón's imprisonment indicate that the two actually considered leaving the country after Perón's release, if indeed he were to be released at all. The two feared that Peron may actually be killed while in prison.)

In reality, the massive rally that freed Perón from prison on October 17, 1945, was organized by the various unions, such as Confederacion General del Trabajo, or "CGT" as they came to be known. To this day, the date of October 17th is something of a holiday for the Peronist party in Argentina.

Juan Perón's campaign for presidency

Eva Perón campaigned heavily for her husband during his 1946 presidential bid. Using her weekly radio show she delivered powerful speeches with heavy populist rhetoric urging the poor to align themselves with Perón's movement. Although she became quite wealthy from her radio and modeling successes, she would highlight her own humble upbringings as a way of showing solidarity with the impoverished classes.

Eva campaigned with her husband, visiting every corner of the country of Argentina. She became the first woman in Argentine history to appear in public on the campaign trail with her husband. (Incidentally, she was also the first woman in Argentine public life to wear pants.) Eva's appearance alongside her husband often offended the establishment of the wealthy, the military, and those in political life. However, she was very popular with the public, who knew her from her radio and motion picture appearances, and was therefore an excellent means of getting attention from the poor and working class voters of Argentina. It was during this phase of her life that she first encouraged the Argentine population to refer to her not as "Eva Perón" but simply as "Evita," which is a Spanish nickname meaning "Little Eva."

Juan Perón is elected president, Evita becomes politically active

After Juan Perón was elected president, Evita gradually took a prominent political role in the government, eventually overshadowing even the vice president of the nation in all but military affairs.

She created the Eva Perón Foundation, an institution to assist the poor. It was incredibly popular and made valuable contributions to Argentine life. The hospitals and orphanages that the Foundation established endured long after Evita's own premature death. The Foundation also increased her political power within Argentina and soon she organized the women's branch of the Justicialist Party. By 1949, Evita was the second most influential figure in Argentina. (It has often been said that she became more powerful than her husband, but this is an exaggeration.)

Eventually, Evita became the center of a vast personality cult and her image and name soon appeared everywhere, with train stations, a city, and even a star in the sky being named after her. Despite her dominance and political power, Evita was always careful to never undermine the important symbolic role of her husband. Evita was always careful to justify her actions by claiming they were "inspired" or "encouraged" by the wisdom and passion of Perón. And though she has often been interpreted has having been singularly ambitious in her own right, Maryssa Navarro and Nicholas Fraser claim in their book "Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron" that everything Evita did was ultimately subordinate to the larger goals and aims of her husband's political agenda.

Though Evita was worshipped by her working-class followers, she was bitterly hated by a vast number of Argentina's middle class and also by the wealthy Anglophile elite. They detested her humble roots. Many felt that as a woman she was far too active in politics. Evita herself referred to them disparagingly as "The Oligarchs." She was known to be extremely vengeful as well, often expelling from the Peronist inner circle anyone who had shown the slightest indication of not being completely loyal to what the mandates Evita and her husband set forth. The slightest act of "disloyalty" was grounds for dismissal from the inner circle. It has often been said that Evita blacklisted the artists Libertad Lamarque and Nini Marshall. But this is unlikely. For example, Lamarque, who had starred in the movie "Cabalagata del Circo" ("The Circus Cavalcade") with Evita, moved to Mexico shortly after Juan Perón was elected president. It is more likely that, rather than moving because of a blacklisting, Lamarque moved to Mexico because the Mexican cinema was in better condition during this period than was the Argentine cinema. Additionally, Lamarque often returned to Argentina to visit her family during Perón's reign.

In 1946, Evita embarked on a much-publicized "Rainbow Tour" of Europe, meeting with numerous heads of state, including Francisco Franco. It was aimed at being a massive public relations coup for the Perón regime, which in the post-World War II world was increasingly being viewed as fascist. She was well-received in Spain, where she visited the tombs of Spain's first absolutist monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and handed 100-peseta notes to every poor child she met on her journey. She later met with the Pope in Rome, and then travelled to Paris. Only in Spain was Evita welcomed with an overwhelmingly positive response. In France and Italy she received mixed reactions. The tour was originally intended to include a trip to England to visit the royal family. When it was announced that the royal family was not able to meet Evita when she wanted, and that Evita's visit would not be treated by the royal family as being as important as the official state visit of US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Evita called off the trip to England, citing exhaustion.

Eva and Juan Perón with a crowd of supporters (note their portraits in the background).
Eva and Juan Perón with a crowd of supporters (note their portraits in the background).

Evita seeks the vice-presidency

In 1951, Evita set her sights on earning a place on the ballot as candidate for vice president. This move angered many military leaders who despised Evita and her increasing powers within the government. In an attempt to convince her Juan Perón that he should allow Evita to run for vice president, the unions organized a mass rally of two million people called "Cabildo Abierto." The Peróns addressed the historic crowd as they often had in the past, from the balcony of the Casa Rosada, or "Pink House," the official government house of Argentina. It has been claimed that "Cabildo Abierto" was was the largest public display of support in history for a female political figure.

At the mass rally, the crowd demanded that Evita publicly announce her official candidacy as vice president. Evita pleaded for more time to make her decision. The exchange between Evita and the crowd of two million became, for a time, a genuine and spontaneous dialogue, with the crowd chanting, "Evita, Vice-Presidente!" When Evita asked for more time so she could make up her mind, the crowd demanded, "Ahora - Evita - Ahora!" ("Now - Evita - Now!") Eventally, they came to a compromise. Evita told the audience that she would announce her decision over the radio a few days later.

Eventually, Evita announced her decision over the radio. She declined the invitation to run for vice president, saying her only ambition was that in the large chapter of history that would be written about her husband, she hoped that in the footnotes there would be mention of a woman who brought the "hopes and dreams of the people to the president," who eventually turned those hopes and dreams into "glorious reality."

Evita's death in 1952 at age 33

Like her husband's first wife, Eva Perón died of cervical cancer (although some sources claim it was leukemia), at the age of 33. Upon her death, the Argentine public was told that Evita was only 30. The discrepency was meant to dovetail with Evita's earlier tampering with her birth certificate. After she became the first lady in 1946, Evita had her birth records altered to read that she had been born to parents whom had been married. At the same time, she had her birth certificate altered to make her three years younger.

Dr. George T. Pack, a New York surgeon had performed a hysterectomy on Eva in November of 1951 and found that the cancer had spread to adjacent pelvic organs. Consequently, her life could not be saved and she died on July 26, 1952. Her body was embalmed and kept on display until a military coup overthrew her husband in 1955. Her body was then flown to Milan, Italy, and buried. Sixteen years later, in 1971, the body was exhumed and flown to Spain. Her husband returned from exile to Argentina as president. He died there in 1974, and Eva's body was returned to Argentina and (briefly) displayed beside his. She was reburied in the Duarte family tomb in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires.

Evita as a popular culture myth and icon

The cover of the 1979 American Broadway Original Cast Recording of Evita.
Enlarge
The cover of the 1979 American Broadway Original Cast Recording of Evita.

Eva's life and career are dramatized in the popular musical, Evita, co-produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which starred Julie Covington in the original concept album, Elaine Paige in London's West End, Patti LuPone on Broadway, and Madonna in film. For her acting Madonna won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy." Eva has also been portrayed on television by Faye Dunaway.

In a 1996 essay, English author Nicholas Fraser wrote that Evita was the perfect popular culture icon for our times. During her reign as first lady of Argetina, Fraser wrote, Evita was often criticized by her detractors for turning national political life into show business. During Evita's time it was virtually unheard-of for a former actress to take part in political life. In our current age this is not the case. Former actors and entertainers, from Ronald Reagan to Sonny Bono to Arnold Schwarzenegger, are taking public office and are often accused of doing what Evita was accused of doing 50 years ago: turning public political life into show business. Fraser wrote that Evita is "the perfect minor deity" for our age of "electric celebrity."

Further reading

References

  • Guareschi, Roberto (Nov. 5, 2005). "Not quite the Evita of Argentine legend". New Straits Times, p. 21.

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