Evita was at the same time a person much loved by many and a person much hated by others. At her death, many tears were shed, but the champagne corks also popped. Evita’s life was one that caused great contradictions. But what is certain is that she continues to touch the hearts of many to this day.
- Youth of Evita
- Eva Duarte and Juan Peron
- Evita’s growing popularity
- The end of Evita… or not?
- The musical and film ,Evita,
Youth of Evita
Childhood
Evita was born Maria Eva Duarte on May 7, 1919 in Los Lobos in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina. Due to a fatal car accident, Eva lost her father Juan Duarte at the age of 7, who had actually abandoned his family years earlier. The rest of the family is left despondent and moves to Junin. Eva is raised in poverty.
Actress in Buenos Aires
At the age of fifteen, Eva left for Buenos Aires where she wanted to expand her acting career and become a star of the silver screen. She works for several theater companies and plays some smaller roles for TV and radio. In 1937 she appeared in a film for the first time. In the years that followed, she continued to work as an actress on the silver screen, as well as in the theater and on the radio.
Films with Eva Duarte
- ¡Segundos afuera! (1937)
- La Carga de los valientes (1940)
- El Más infeliz del pueblo (1941)
- Una Novia en apuros (1942)
- La Cabalgata del circo, (1945)
- La Prodiga (1945)
Eva Duarte and Juan Peron
Meeting
Eva’s life changed dramatically when she met Juan Perón in 1944 at a fundraiser for the victims of an earthquake in San Juan. She started a relationship with him. Perón was then minister of ‘war and work’ in the military government that had seized power the year before. However, in late 1945, Perón was captured by members of the government. After all, they did not want the now very popular Juan Perón to put forward his candidacy for the presidency. Eva then helped to set up a mass demonstration, which resulted in Perón being released after just ten days.
Wedding
Shortly after his release, Eva and Juan Perón married and in 1946 Perón was elected president, after a campaign in which his wife played an active role, an unprecedented event in Argentina at the time. She convinced the workers and poor to rally behind Perón. After her husband’s election as president, Eva becomes first lady, a role that is tailor-made for her.
Evita’s growing popularity
Benefactor to the poor
From the beginning of Perón’s presidency, Eva has made her voice heard in favor of the less fortunate in society. It will not be surprising that Eva’s actions are a thorn in the side of the elite class, politicians and the army. However, the common people adore her. Eva, who was already known to many through the silver screen and television, managed to move the masses and fought for higher wages and better social conditions. She also began using the name ,Evita, herself for the first time, instead of encouraging Eva. On the one hand, Evita was a faithful, supportive wife, on the other hand, she was also a feminist who stood up for women’s rights. In 1947, through Evitas’s tireless, fervent efforts, women were finally granted the right to vote.
Evita also founded the Eva Perón Foundation, through which she performed good deeds on a large scale for the less fortunate. For example, she had schools, orphanages and hospitals built.
Evita outside Argentina
Evita also attracted a lot of attention outside Argentina’s borders. She was a glamorous ambassador of Argentina who attracted a lot of attention and was even allowed to have an audience with the Pope during a visit to Europe in 1948.
The end of Evita… or not?
Resistance among the elite and military
Domestically, popularity rose among the common people, but fell to a low point among the elite classes who felt threatened by Evita’s continued struggle to improve the situation of the less well-off at the expense of high society. Although Evita wanted to run for vice president alongside her husband in 1951, she ultimately had to withdraw. Her candidacy was fiercely fought by the military.
Lingering illness and death
At the same time, Evita’s health deteriorated sharply. At the end of 1951, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer and Evita underwent an operation that ultimately proved unsuccessful. In 1952, Juan Perón was re-elected as president, but Evita was in such bad shape that she could no longer support herself. On July 26, 1952, Eva Duarte Perón died at the age of only thirty-three, after a long illness. With the exception of the elite, who finally see themselves freed from her, the entire country goes into mourning. Evita’s death sets off a whole crowd that has never been seen before in Argentina and hasn’t been seen since.
Evita lives on in the hearts of many people
To this day, Evita enjoys a kind of saint status among many traditionalist Peronists of the working class. After many wanderings, her body was given a provisional final resting place in 1974 at the Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires (photo). Evita is without a doubt the most influential woman Argentina has ever known and who left an indelible mark on history through her fight for justice.
The musical and film ,Evita,
The life of Eva Perón was made into a well-known musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. This musical was later also adapted into a film, in which Madonna played the role of Evita.