It is impossible not to notice the imagery, graffiti, and references to María Eva Duarte de Perón in Buenos Aires. When we visited the Casa Rosada, the national reverence for Evita was evident. Books, pins, posters and other Evita memorabilia are displayed at street markets and antique shops.  She seems to evoke the same feelings we in the U.S. have for Roosevelt and for similar reasons. 

Our interest piqued, last week we visited the Evita Museum (Museo Evita) located at 2988 Lafinur Street in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires fairly close to our apartment. The entrance fee was 15 pesos each, headset for an English translation extra but not absolutely necessary. We were not disappointed in our visit to this museo.

Most everyone knows Evita’s basic story if from nothing else than the musical Evita starring Madona with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.

The museo offered a detailed examination of her life complete with original photos and video, newspapers, magazines, film clips, and clothing. Eva’s life is one of the all-time, great, rags-to-riches, storybook tales. Born out of wedlock in a small rural village, she moved to Buenos Aires in 1934 at the age of 15. Here she pursued and successfully established a career in radio, on the stage and as a film actress. A short 10 years later she married Juan Perón who would soon be the president of Argentina and become a political legend.

At the height of her popularity at age 33, Evita died of cancer on July 26, 1952, roughly 18 years after arriving in Buenos Aires. During that short period Evita achieved stardom, engaged in political action culminating in becoming Argentina’s First Lady, became a world-renowned activist for the poor and disenfranchised, and in 1947 became a player on the world scene with her “Rainbow Tour” of Europe as First Lady of Argentina where she met with dignitaries, heads of state and the Pope.

After Evita’s death her body took an intriguing path, its whereabouts remaining a mystery for 16 years. It was a period of a military dictatorship in Argentina with a ban on Peronism. Finally the military revealed that  Evita’s body had been buried in a crypt in Milan, Italy, under the name María Maggi. Today her body resides in the famed Recoleta Cemetery here in Buenos Aires.

We took this photo at the Recoleta Cemetery (more later)

The museo houses great original photos…

The photo below is a great period piece. The Peróns focused on transforming the economy, thereby providing jobs and spurring the economy.

There was also a series of modern art pieces focused on Eva and Juan.

Our afternoon at the Evita Perón museo left us filled with questions about the richness of life, no matter how long or short, what makes for a great and revered political and cultural leader, and how life seems to thrust some people into a role and purpose with no warning or easily understood reason.

The career of Juan Perón continued, he became president for the third time in 1973 and died in office in 1974. His third wife, Isabel Perón, who had been elected vice-president, succeeded him as president.

Perónism lives today; the current president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, leads the Peronist political party that currently dominates elections.

For additional reading:

• Evita: The Woman Behind the Myth. A&E Biography. 1996
• Adams, Jerome R (1993). Latin American Heroes: Liberators and Patriots from 1500 to the Present. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345383842.
• Barnes, John (1978). Evita, First Lady: A Biography of Eva Perón. New York, New York: Grove Press.
• Crassweller, Robert D (1987). Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393023818.
• Guillermoprieto, Alma (2002). Looking for History: Dispatches from Latin America. Vintage. ISBN 0375725822.
• Perón, Eva (1952). La Razón de mi vida. Buro Editors.
• Juan Pablo Queiroz, Tomas De Elia, ed. Evita: An Intimate Portrait of Eva Peron.
• Rousso-Lenoir, Fabienne. America Latina. ISBN 2843233356.