GEOG226- Evita

This past week we went to the Evita Museum and learned a lot about her life and what kind of person she was. While many people adored Evita, there were many who despised her as well.

Evita was born in Los Toldos, a rural area in Argentina in 1919. However, she had a fake birth certificate made that said she was born in Junin in 1922. She did this to help her status and appear that she was from a wealthier area than she actually was. Evita was one of 5 children and she was born out of wedlock.

When Evita was 15 years old she moved to Buenos Aires where she started living her dream as an actress. When she reached financial stability she was able to move to Recoleta, an area that was well known and prestigious. 


In 1944 she met her future husband, Juan Peron, at the GALA fundraiser for the recent devastating earthquake in San Juan, Buenos Aires that killed over 6,000 people. She married him just one year later. His family was never fond of Evita, simply because of her background. 


In 1947, she went on a European tour, which some people referred to as "Eva Peron: Between 2 worlds, an Argentine rainbow."On this tour she went to Spain, Rome, France, England, and Switzerland. In Spain she was well liked because she donated a lot of people to several foundations. She was also liked in France and was given a rosary by the pope. However, she was strongly disliked and unwelcome in both England and Switzerland. In fact, England rejected her completely. They had no interest in talking with her. In Switzerland, people were so unhappy with her being there that while speaking to the people tomatoes were thrown at her.


Something that the guide mentioned, that I found very interesting is that is very common for their to be disputes and controversy over Evita within the family. For example, his grandfather was part of the Peronist movement but his mom strongly disliked Evita. Clearly our guide is a supporter of Evita. This just shows that Evita was, still is, and probably always will be a controversial figure in Argentine society. 


Even though there were many people against Evita, she did a lot of good for the people. She started women's suffrage in Argentina, created the female peronist party, and the charitable Eva Peron Foundation. During her life, she donated a lot of money, and was adored by the working class people in Argentina.

Words used to describe Evita

Sadly in 1950 her health quickly declined and she was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer. She died just two years later when she was only 33 years old and was mummified as to preserve her forever and people could constantly be reminded of her. When Peron was overthrown, her body was stolen and buried in Italy for nearly 15 years! Eventually it was recovered and was buried in the Recoleta Cemetery. Even though Evita has been all around the world, her body remains to this day in Recoleta in a beautiful mausoleum. 

Burial Site in Recoleta