María Eva Duarte de Perón (commonly known by the affectionate diminutive Evita) (May 7, 1919 – July 26, 1952) was the second wife of Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón (1895–1974) and the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. Though she was never an officially elected political figure, as First Lady she came to exercise more power and influence within the government than anyone but her own husband. Among the poor and working class of Argentina, she wielded a charismatic influence that has few historical parallels outside of hereditary monarchy.
Evita presided over the creation of the Eva Perón Foundation, a charitable foundation that built thousands of homes and schools for women and the poor, and ensured that, for the first time in Argentine history, there was no inequality in health care among citizens [1]. Evita also presided over the creation of the Female Peronist Party, which was the first truly powerful female political party in the nation.
In 1951, she launched a campaign to be allowed to run for the office of Vice-President of Argentina, which the nation's military, elite, and her own husband ultimately prevented. Had Evita been elected she would have become the world's first female vice-president. (This distinction eventually went to Juan Perón's third wife, Isabel Perón, who ironically attempted to model herself after Evita.) Instead, in 1952 Evita was given the official title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation".
Evita was also a highly controversial figure during her life, and she remains so to this day. Though she was a part of Argentine political life for little more than six years, during that brief time she became the center of much gossip, conjecture, and myth making. In their book Evita: The Real Life of Eva Perón, authors Marysa Navarro and Nicholas Fraser claim that the myths and distortions surrounding Eva Perón are the most complicated of any modern political figure [2].
During her life, Evita was the most powerful woman in Argentina, and most historians agree that she remains the most powerful woman in the history of her nation and the entire South American continent. At the time of her death, she was arguably the most powerful woman in the entire world.
Biography
Early life
Eva María Duarte's birth certificate places her birth at the city of Junín, Buenos Aires Province, but some questions still remain as to the true location of her birth. Her mother lived with her brothers at "La Unión" farm, some 60 kilometers south of Junín, near the village of Los Toldos. Most biographers agree that Eva was born in Los Toldos. There is evidence, however, that Eva may've been born in Junín. All biographers agree that Eva spent her childhood and early teen years living with her mother and siblings in Junín.
At age 15, Eva Duarte travelled to Buenos Aires. There is some disagreement about how she arrived, with the most popular version being that she was brought to the big city by a travelling singer (named Agustín Magaldi in the version put forth in the Tim Rice and 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, being credited as Eva Duarte, to make it appear that she was not an illegitimate child, 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 Perón
Eva Duarte met Colonel Juan Perón at a charity event to raise funds for the victims of the San Juan earthquake. She and Perón married on 21 October 1945. On her marriage license, she stated her maiden name as María Eva Duarte, so it would appear that she had her father's last name; she also put that she was several years younger, and had her birth certificate destroyed. 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 before his marriage 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 17 October 1945. This version of events was popularized in the movie version of the Tim Rice and 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 labor 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 disenfranchised.
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 Perón might actually be killed while in prison.
In reality, the massive rally that freed Perón from prison was organized by the various unions, such as General Labor Confederation, or CGT as they came to be known. To this day, the date of October 17th is something of a holiday for the Justicialist Party in Argentina (celebrated as Día de la Lealtad, or "Loyalty Day").
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 had become wealthy from her radio and modeling successes, she would highlight her own humble upbringing as a way of showing solidarity with the impoverished classes.
Eva visited every corner of the country, becoming 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 diminutive.
Juan Perón elected president, Evita becomes politically active
After Juan Perón's first election to the presidency on March 28, 1946, Evita gradually took a prominent political role in the government, eventually overshadowing even the vice-president of the nation in all but military affairs. It has often been said that she became more powerful than her husband, but this is an exaggeration. Nor did she ever truly become more popular than her husband. Only for a brief time, the last few months of her life and the public mourning of her death, did Evita's popularity match her husband's.
In reality, Evita's main role within the Peronist government was to create a personality cult around her husband, whom she elevated to nearly divine status, often comparing him to Christ and saying that all Peronists must be ready to die for Perón. Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro say that this apotheosis was what ultimately corrupted Perón and debased the Peronist movement. In light of Evita's often verbose praise for her husband, the slightest criticism of Juan Perón was easily interpreted as unpatriotic. Evita even stated explicitly that only the Peronists were truly Argentine, and anyone who was anti-Peronist was not truly Argentine.
"Perón is the heart, the soul, the nerve, and the reality of the Argentine people. We all know that there is only one man in our movement with his own source of light. We all feed off of that light. And that man is Perón!" — 1951 speech by Eva Perón
In 1947, 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. Francoist Spain had not recovered from the Spanish Civil War; the autarkic economy and the UN embargo meant that the country could not feed its people.
During her visit to Spain, Evita handed out 100-peseta notes to every poor child she met on her journey. She later met 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 United States First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Evita called off the trip to England, citing exhaustion.
After returning to Argentina from Europe, Evita would never again appear in public with the complicated hairdos of her movie star days. She would henceforth appear with her hair pulled back into a bun [3]. Additionally, her style of clothing became more simple after the tour. No longer would she wear the elaborate couture of the European fashion houses. Perhaps in an attempt to make herself appear as more of a serious political figure, Evita would henceforth appear in public wearing modest business dress suit combinations.
The change of image coincided with a focus on charity work, or "social aid", as Evita called it. She eventually 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.
Eventually, Evita became the center of her own vast personality cult and her image and name soon appeared everywhere, with train stations, a city ("Ciudad Evita") [4], 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 as having been singularly ambitious in her own right, Navarro and Fraser claim (op. cit.) 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 and lack of formal education. 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 vengeful as well, often expelling from the Peronist inner circle anyone who had shown the slightest indication of not being completely loyal to 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. Lamarque, who had starred in the movie "Cabalgata 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 rule.
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 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". (Incidentally, the name "Cabildo Abierto" was a reference and tribute to the first local Argentine government of the May Revolution, in 1810). The Peróns addressed the crowd from the balcony of a huge scaffolding set up near the Casa Rosada, the official government house of Argentina. Overhead were two large portraits of Eva and Juan Perón. It has been claimed that "Cabildo Abierto" 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!"). Eventually, they came to a compromise. Evita told the audience that she would announce her decision over the radio a few days later.
Eventually, Evita 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". In Peronist rhetoric, this event has come to be referred to as "The Renouncement", [5][6] portraying Evita as having been a selfless woman in line with the Hispanic myth of marianismo. Most biographers, however, now agree that Evita did not so much renounce her ambition but rather caved to pressure from her husband, the military, and the wealthy, who would not have liked her to run. (There is evidence that the military said they would overthrow the government if Evita were elected vice-president, as the thought of being under the command of a woman in light of the president's death would not be acceptable to them.) By this stage in her life it had also become evident that her health was rapidly worsening and a bid for the vice-presidency was not ultimately practical in light of her condition.
On June 4, 1952 Evita rode with Juan Perón in parade through Buenos Aires in celebration of his re-election as President of Argentina. (This was the first election Argentine women had been allowed to vote in. Evita had organized women voters into the first truly powerful female political party in the country's history.) Evita was by this point so ill that she was unable to stand without support. Underneath her oversized fur coat was a frame made of plaster and wire that allowed her to stand. She had taken a triple dose of painkillers before the parade, and had to take a double dose when she returned home.
In an official ceremony a few days after Juan Perón's second inauguration, Evita was given the official title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation".
Evita's death in 1952 at age 33
Dr. George T. Pack, a New York surgeon, performed a hysterectomy on Eva in November 1951 and found that the cancer had spread to adjacent pelvic organs. Consequently, her life could not be saved.
Like her husband's first wife, Eva Perón died of Uterine 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 discrepancy 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 that had been married. At the same time, she had her birth certificate altered to make her three years younger.
At the moment of Evita's death at 8:25 p.m. on July 26, 1952, all activity in Argentina stopped. Movies stopped playing, restaurants were closed and patrons were shown to the door. Argentina went into immediate mourning. (In point of fact, Evita had died at 8:23 p.m., but the time of her death was announced as 8:25 because it was felt that this time would be easier to remember.) A radio broadcast interrupted the broadcasting schedule, with the announcer reading, "It is my sad duty to inform you that at 8:25 p.m. Eva Perón, Spiritual Leader of the Nation, entered immortality".
The death of Evita was unquestionably the biggest event of the year, and the ornate lying in state and mass grief expressed by the people have come to be legendary images of Argentina. An estimated one million filed past Evita's coffin as it lay in state. She was eventually given an official burial, an honor usually reserved for formally elected government officials. Seventeen people were crushed to death in the throngs on the streets during the procession of Evita's coffin through the streets of Buenos Aires [7]. Thousands more were taken to city hospitals and treated for injuries. It was reported that while walking behind Evita's coffin through downtown Buenos Aires, Juan Perón was astonished by the extent of the grief of the public and was overheard to say, "I never knew they loved her so much".
Shortly after her death, a labor union would petition the Vatican to have Evita officially declared a saint.
The escapades of Evita's corpse
Evita's body was embalmed by Dr. Pedro Ara. It is uncertain whether Evita herself decided that she would like to be embalmed. But shortly after her death, plans were made to construct a monument in Evita's honor. The monument, which was to be a statue of a man representing the "Descamisados", was projected to be larger than the Statue of Liberty. Evita's body was to be stored in the base of the monument and, in the tradition of Lenin's corpse, to be displayed for the public.
Before the monument to Evita was completed, Juan Perón was overthrown in a military coup, the Revolución Libertadora, in 1955. Perón had only enough time to collect a few belongings before he fled the country. He therefore did not have time to secure Evita's body.
In Perón's absence, a military dictatorship took power in Argentina. Fearful that Evita's body would become a symbol of Peronism and inspire the population to revolution, the military hid Evita's body. Thus began what, by many accounts, is perhaps the most bizarre ordeal of any corpse in history. In 1995, Tomas Eloy Martínez published "Santa Evita" [8], which detailed many previously unknown facts about the escapades of Evita's corpse, such as the fact that many wax copies were made of the corpse, as well as other violations of the corpse. Martínez claimed that the corpse was battered with a hammer and that some men even committed necrophiliac acts on the corpse.
From 1955 until 1971, the military dictatorship of Argentina issued a ban on Peronism. During this period, Peronism was outlawed. It became illegal not only to possess pictures of Juan and Eva Perón even in one's home, but to even speak their names.
After sixteen years, the military finally revealed the location of Evita's body. It had been buried in a crypt in Milan, Italy, under the name "María Maggi". In 1971, the body was exhumed and flown to Spain, where Juan Perón maintained the corpse in his home. In 1973, Juan Perón came out of exile and returned to Argentina, becoming president for the third time. Perón died in office in 1974. Isabel Perón, who had been elected vice-president, thus became the first female president in the world. It was Isabel who had Evita's body returned to Argentina and (briefly) displayed beside Juan Perón's. The body was later buried in the Duarte family tomb in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires.
Extra measures were taken by the government to secure Evita's tomb. There is a trapdoor in the tomb's marble floor, which leads to a compartment that contains two coffins. Under the first compartment is a second trapdoor and a second compartment. That is where Evita's coffin rests. The tomb is said to be secure enough to withstand a bomb attack, even a nuclear bomb attack.
Allegations of Nazi and Fascist sympathizing
- "The difficulty in understanding Peronism and its two protagonists -- Perón and Evita -- stems above all from the fact that Perón sympathized with the Axis powers in 1944 and 1945, when he was a colonel and Minister of War. That blunder made him unacceptable to the U.S. The seeds of the idea that Evita shared his sentiments were also planted during that time. But Evita was more or less Perón's clandestine lover then and thought only of holding on to her man and surviving. She lacked not only any political ideology but also influence and power in either Perón's household or the political life of Argentina.... It is true that Perón facilitated the entrance of Nazi criminals to Argentina in 1947 and 1948, thereby hoping to acquire advanced technology developed by the Germans during the war. But Evita played no part." -- Tomás Eloy Martínez, Director of the Latin American program at Rutgers University[9]
Of all the myths that have circled around Evita in the more than 50 years since her death, perhaps the most notorious myth is that she was a Nazi sympathizer.
It has been reported that this myth of Evita's support for Nazism is largely responsible for the negative portrayal of Eva Perón in the Broadway version of the musical "Evita." When the musical debuted in London on June 21, 1978, the portrayal of Evita was comparatively sympathetic. By the time of the musical's debut in New York City in 1979, the structure of the production had been reworked considerably, with some songs being omitted entirely, and what resulted was a far more unsympathetic depiction of Eva Perón.
In literature about the production of the musical it has been speculated that this reworking of the musical to portray Evita as a villain was in large part done in response to the fear of reprimand, perhaps even boycotts, by the large Jewish population of New York City. The producers were likely fearful that if they portrayed Evita too kindly in the musical, all the while the public viewed Evita as a Nazi sympathizer and therefore anti-Semitic, then the producers and writers themselves would also be viewed in that context. Even after the musical was reworked to depict Evita in a more negative light, the writers and producers were still met with criticism for creating a musical that was viewed by some as glorifying a Nazi and Fascist sympathizer. [10][11][12]
Early versions of this myth of Nazi sympathizing emerged during Juan Perón's first term as president. Some detractors forged documents that were circulated around Argentina and England during Peron's first term. These documents made it appear that Evita, who at the time was still an actress and Perón's mistress, had met with Nazis in Patagonia to arrange for the smuggle of Nazi loot into the country. Other opponents of Peronism circulated the idea that Peronism was simply a South American version of Nazism and Fascism. In recent years, books such as "The Real Odessa: How Peron Brought Nazi War Criminals to Argentina" have portrayed Eva Perón as playing a significant role in helping Nazi criminals escape justice. (The authors of this book capitalized on Evita's image recognition by publishing a picture of Evita on the book's cover. [13])
The truth, according to many scholars, is that Juan and Eva Perón, and the movement they founded, known as Peronism, had no official ties to Nazism or fascism, and there was no official anti-Semitism in Perón's Argentina. As a nationalist, Juan Perón had indeed sided with Axis powers during World War II, but it was regarding matters of nationalism and not anti-Semitism. Further, this was at a point before he had known Evita, and before Evita herself had become politically active. Therefore, Eva Perón herself cannot in any true sense be described as having sympathized or identified with Nazi or fascist ideology.
Many Jewish scholars have pointed out that Juan Perón's Argentina was a relatively comfortable place for Jewish people to live.
In his dissertation titled "The Jews and Perón: Communal Politics and National Identity in Peronist Argentina, 1946-1955" Lawrence D. Bell writes, "Despite the claims of Perón's detractors in the United States and elsewhere that he was anti-Semitic and in sympathy with European Fascism, Perón in fact demonstrated a considerable amount of pragmatism in his dealings with Argentina's 250,000 strong Jewish population." [14]
In the book "Inside Argentina from Perón to Menem: 1950-2000 From an American Point of View," [15] Lawrence Levine writes, "The American government demonstrated no knowledge of Perón's deep admiration for Italy (and his distaste for Germany, whose culture he found too rigid). Nor did they appreciate that although anti-Semitism existed in Argentina, Perón's own views and his political associations were not anti-Semitic. They paid no attention to the fact that Perón sought out the Jewish community in Argentina to assist in developing his policies and that one of his most important allies in organizing the industrial sector was Jose Ber Gelbard, a Jewish immigrant from Poland."
- "Peronism was not fascism. Some of Peronism's adherents had a fascist outlook and mentality. Perón himself admired Mussolini and the idea of the corporate state. Some of the trappings of Peronism recalled the ambiance of the Black Shirts. But all this was relatively superficial. No fascist society was ever erected on a mass base of laboring and dispossessed hordes. In its own description of identity, Peronism rejected the Facist parallel. It was more intimately grounded in the national history and ethos than was any European fascism. The structure of the Peronist state after the constitutional amendments of 1949 remained that of the old Argentine democratic order.
- "Peronism was not nazism. Again, on the extreme fringes of the nationalist elements collected in the right-wing Nationalist Liberation Alliance and among a small number of pro-Axis military officers, there were Nazi sympathizers. And Buenos Aires was a center of German espionage and propaganda activity during parts of the Second World War. But Peronism's main thrust reflected no adherence to Nazi principles. There were occasionally minor aggressions against synagogues (and Protestant churches) and the police reaction was not always rigorous, but Peronism as such had no anti-Semitic or other racial bias. As Ambassador Messersmith reported at length in May 1947, "There is not as much social discrimination against Jews here as there is right in New York or in most places at home..." -- Robert D. Crassweller, "Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina"; [16]
Evita as popular culture myth and icon
- "In her own country, her story is at last part of history, arousing the sort of peaceful controversy one might expect from so astonishing a career. In the rest of the world, however, she has attained the condition of apotheosis," Nicholas Frasier, biographer of Evita.
Shortly before her death, Evita said, "Volveré y seré milliones," which translates into, "I will return and I will be millions." Evita herself would perhaps be surprised by how prophetic her words turned out to be. By the late 20th century, Evita had been transformed into a popular culture icon that had transcended Argentine politics. She was made the subject of numerous articles, books, stage plays, and musicals, ranging from the gossipy biography by Mary Main called The Woman with the Whip, to the B-grade film "Little Mother" [17], and a 1981 TV movie called "Evita Peron" with Faye Dunaway in the title role [18].
But none of the other renderings of Evita's life were nearly as successful as the musical Evita. The musical began as a concept album co-produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with Julie Covington in the title role. Elaine Paige would later be cast in the title role when the concept album was adapted into a musical stage production on London's West End. But it was Patti LuPone's 1978 Tony Award-winning Broadway performance that ultimately fulfilled the historical Eva Perón's desire for immortality. To date, the stage production has been performed on every continent (except Antarctica) and has generated over $2 billion in revenue.
As early as 1978, the Broadway musical was considered as the basis for a movie, with everyone from Patti LuPone, to Liza Minnelli, to Michelle Pfeiffer, to Meryl Streep, being considered for the title role. After a nearly 20-year production delay, Madonna was cast in the title role for the film version of the musical. Madonna would later win the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy."
In response to the movie starring Madonna, and in an alleged attempt to offer a more politically accurate depiction of Evita's life, an Argentine film company released "Eva Perón: The True Story" starring Argentine actress Esther Goris in the title role [19]. This movie was the 1996 Argentine submission for the Oscar in the category of "Best Foreign Film".
In a 1996 essay, English author Nicholas Fraser wrote that Evita was the perfect popular culture icon for our times. Fraser wrote that during her reign as First Lady of Argentina, 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, have often taken public political offices. Fraser wrote that in this way Evita was ahead of her time and is therefore perhaps "the perfect minor deity" for our age of "electric celebrity".
- "She was far from being a saint, despite the veneration of millions of Argentines, but she was not a villain either. Human beings are full of contradictions and labyrinthine complexities. Rarely do they resemble their portrayal in the musicals of Hollywood and Broadway." -- Tomas Eloy Martinez, author of "Santa Evita" [20] and Director of the Latin American program at Rutgers University, in an online article for Time Magazine. [21]
Further reading
Biographies of Eva Perón
- Evita By Evita: Evita Tells Her Own Story by Eva Duarte Peron
- Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron by Marysa Navarro and Nicholas Fraser
- Eva Peron: The Myths of a Woman by Julie M. Taylor
- Evita: The Woman Behind the Myth, a video documentary produced by A&E's Biography series.
- Evita: The Woman with the Whip by Mary Main
- Eva Peron by Alicia Dujovne Ortiz
References
- Guareschi, Roberto (Nov. 5, 2005). "Not quite the Evita of Argentine legend". New Straits Times, p. 21.
- Tobar, Hector (Los Angeles Times, 2003)]
- Heath, Nick (People's History, UK)
- Benitez, Marcelo Manuel (Icarodigital, AR)
- Nudelman,Santiago (Buenos Aires, 1960; Chiefly draft resolutions and declarations presented by Nudelman as a member of the Cámara de Diputados of the Argentine Republic during the Perón administration)
- casahistoria pages on Perón Les Fearns site, also links to Eva Perón pages
- Extracts (in English) from Juan Domingo Perón, Peronist Doctrine Edited by the Peronist Party. (Buenos Aires, 1952). Modern History Sourcebook
- The Twenty Truths of the Peronist Movement (1940s) The Justicialist movement’s core tenets.
- Juan Domingo Perón Argentine Presidential Messages Well indexed dating from 1946 onwards. The actual documents are shown as photocopied images. Note: Downloading can be slow! University of Texas.
See also
Related articles
- Delia Parodi, one of the first women to serve in Argentine Congress, was a close associate of Eva Perón and a founding member of the Female Peronist Party.