Eva Perón - Biography of Evita, First Lady of Argentina Eva Perón Eva Perón First Lady of Argentina Promotional headshot portrait of Argentinean singer, actress, and first lady, Eva Duarte Peron. (circa 1940s). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) By Patricia Daniels, Contributing Writer Updated July 01, 2016. Who Was Eva Perón? Eva Perón, wife of Argentine president Juan Perón , was the first lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. As first lady, Eva Perón, fondly called “Evita” by many, played a major role in her husband's administration. She is widely remembered for her efforts to help the poor and for her role in getting women the vote. Although Eva Perón was adored by the masses, some Argentines intensely disliked her, believing Eva's actions were driven by a ruthless ambition to succeed at all costs. Eva Perón's life was cut short when she died of cancer at the age of 33.

Dates: May 7, 1919 – July 26, 1952 Also Known As: Maria Eva Duarte (born as), Eva Duarte de Perón, Evita Famous Quote: "One cannot accomplish anything without fanaticism." Eva's Childhood Maria Eva Duarte was born in Los Toldos, Argentina on May 7, 1919 to Juan Duarte and Juana Ibarguren, an unmarried couple. The youngest of five children, Eva, as she came to be known, had three older sisters and a brother. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Juan Duarte worked as the estate manager of a large, successful farm and the family lived in a house on the main street of their small town. However, Juana and the children shared Juan Duarte's income with his "first family," a wife and three daughters who lived in the nearby town of Chivilcoy. Not long after Eva's birth, the central government, which had previously been run by wealthy and corrupt landowners, came under the control of the Radical Party, made up of middle-class citizens who favored reform.

Juan Duarte, who had benefited greatly from his friendships with those landowners, soon found himself without a job. He returned to his hometown of Chivilcoy to join his other family. When he left, Juan turned his back on Juana and their five children. Eva was not yet a year old. Juana and her children were forced to leave their home and move into a tiny house near the railroad tracks, where Juana made a meager living from sewing clothes for the townspeople. Eva and her siblings had few friends; they were ostracized because their illegitimacy was considered scandalous. In 1926, when Eva was six years old, her father was killed in a car accident. Juana and the children traveled to Chivilcoy for his funeral and were treated like outcasts by Juan's "first family." Dreams of Being a Star Juana moved her family to a larger town, Junin, in 1930, seeking more opportunities for her children. The older siblings found jobs and Eva and her sister enrolled in school. As was the case in Los Toldos, other children were warned to stay away from the Duartes, whose mother was deemed less than respectable.

As a teenager, young Eva became fascinated with the world of movies; in particular, she loved American movie stars. Eva made it her mission to one day leave her small town and life of poverty and move to Buenos Aires , the capital of Argentina, to become a famous actress. Against her mother's wishes, Eva made the move to Buenos Aires in 1935 when she was only 15 years old. The actual details of her departure remain cloaked in mystery. In one version of the story, Eva traveled to the capital on a train with her mother, ostensibly to audition for a radio station. When Eva succeeded in finding a job in radio, her angry mother then returned to Junin without her. In the other version, Eva met a popular male singer in Junin and convinced him to take her with him to Buenos Aires. In either case, Eva's move to Buenos Aires was permanent. She only returned to Junin for short visits to her family. Older brother Juan, who had already moved to the capital city, was charged with keeping an eye on his sister. (When Eva later became famous, many of the details of her early years were difficult to confirm.

Even her birth records mysteriously vanished in the 1940s.) Life in Buenos Aires Eva arrived in Buenos Aires at a time of great political change. The Radical Party had fallen out of power by 1935, replaced by a coalition of conservatives and wealthy landowners known as the Concordancia . This group removed reformists from government positions and gave their jobs to their own friends and followers. Those who resisted or complained were often sent to prison. Poor people and the working class felt powerless against the wealthy minority. With few material possessions and little money, Eva Duarte found herself among the poor, but she never lost her determination to succeed. After her job at the radio station ended, she found work as an actress in a troupe that traveled to small towns throughout Argentina. Although she earned little, Eva made certain she sent money to her mother and siblings. After gaining some acting experience on the road, Eva worked as a radio soap opera actress and even secured a few small film roles. In 1939, she and a business partner started their own business, the Company of the Theater of the Air, which produced radio soap operas and a series of biographies about famous women.

By 1943, although she could not claim movie star status, 24-year-old Eva Duarte had become successful and fairly well-off. She lived in an apartment in an upscale neighborhood, having escaped the shame of her impoverished childhood. By sheer will and determination, Eva had made her adolescent dream something of a reality. Meeting Juan Perón On January 15, 1944, 600 miles from Buenos Aires, a massive earthquake struck western Argentina , killing 6,000 people. Argentines across the country wanted to help their fellow countrymen. In Buenos Aires, the effort was led by 48-year-old Army Colonel Juan Domingo Perón , the head of the nation's labor department. Perón asked Argentina's performers to use their fame to promote his cause. Actors, singers, and others (including Eva Duarte) walked the streets of Buenos Aires to collect money for earthquake victims. The fundraising effort culminated in a benefit held at a local stadium. There, on January 22, 1944, Eva Duarte met Colonel Juan Perón.

Born on October 8, 1895, Perón had been raised on a farm in Patagonia in southern Argentina. He had joined the army at the age of 16 and had risen through the ranks to become a colonel. When the military took control of the Argentine government in 1943, overthrowing the conservatives in power, Perón was well-positioned to become one of its key leaders. Perón distinguished himself as labor secretary by encouraging laborers to form unions, thereby giving them the freedom to organize and strike. By doing so, he also gained their loyalty. Perón, a widower whose wife had died of cancer in 1938, was immediately drawn to Eva Duarte. The two became inseparable and very soon, Eva proved herself Juan Perón's most ardent supporter. She used her position at the radio station to feature broadcasts that praised Juan Perón as a benevolent government figure. In what amounted to propaganda, Eva made nightly announcements about the wonderful services the government was providing for its poor people. She even staged and acted in skits which supported her claims. Arrest of Juan Perón Perón enjoyed the support of many of the poor and those living in rural areas.

Wealthy landowners, however, did not trust him and feared he wielded too much power. By 1945, Perón had achieved the lofty positions of minister of war and vice president, and was in fact more powerful than President Edelmiro Farrell. Several groups—including the Radical Party, the Communist Party, and conservative factions—opposed Perón. They accused him of dictatorial behaviors, such as censorship of the media and brutality against university students during a peaceful demonstration. The final straw came when Perón appointed a friend of Eva's as secretary of communications, enraging those in government who believed Eva Duarte had become too involved in affairs of state. Perón was forced by a group of army officers to resign on October 8, 1945, and taken into custody. President Farrell —- under pressure from the military -— then ordered that Perón be held on an island off the coast of Buenos Aires. Eva appealed to a judge to get Perón released, but to no avail. Perón himself wrote a letter to the president demanding his release and the letter was leaked to newspapers. Members of the working class, Perón's staunchest supporters, came together to protest Perón's incarceration.

On the morning of October 17, workers all over Buenos Aires refused to go to work. Shops, factories, and restaurants stayed closed, as employees took to the streets, chanting " Perón!" The protestors brought the capital to a grinding halt, forcing the government to release Juan Perón. (For years after, October 17 was observed as a national holiday.) Just four days later, on October 21, 1945, 50-year-old Juan Perón married 26-year-old Eva Duarte in a simple civil ceremony. President and First Lady Encouraged by the strong show of support, Perón announced that he would run for president in the 1946 election. As the wife of a presidential candidate, Eva came under close scrutiny. Ashamed of her illegitimacy and childhood poverty, Eva was not always forthcoming with her answers when questioned by the press. Her secrecy contributed to her legacy: the "white myth" and the "black myth" of Eva Perón. In the white myth, Eva was a saint-like, compassionate woman who helped the poor and disadvantaged.

In the black myth, the Eva Perón with the questionable past was depicted as ruthless and ambitious, willing to do anything to advance her husband's career. Eva quit her radio job and joined her husband on the campaign trail. Perón did not affiliate himself with a particular political party; instead, he formed a coalition of supporters from different parties, made up primarily of workers and union leaders. Perón supporters were known as descamisados , or "shirtless ones," referring to the working class, in contrast to the wealthy class, who would be attired in suits and ties. Perón won the election and was sworn in on June 5, 1946. Eva Perón, who had been raised in poverty in a small town, had made the unlikely leap to first lady of Argentina. ( Pictures of Evita ) "Evita" Helps Her People Juan Perón inherited a country with a strong economy. Following World War II , many European nations, in dire financial circumstances, borrowed money from Argentina and some were forced to import wheat and beef from Argentina as well. Perón's government profited from the arrangement, charging interest on the loans and fees on the exports from ranchers and farmers.

Eva, who preferred to be called the affectionate name Evita ("Little Eva") by the working class, embraced her role as first lady. She installed members of her family in high government positions in areas such as the postal service, education, and customs. Eva visited workers and union leaders at factories, questioning them about their needs and inviting their suggestions. She also used these visits to give speeches in support of her husband. Eva Perón saw herself as a dual persona; as Eva, she performed her ceremonial duties in the role of first lady; as "Evita," champion of the descamisados, she served her people face-to-face, working to fill their needs. Eva opened offices in the Ministry of Labor and sat at a desk, greeting working-class people in need of help. She used her position to get help for those who came in with urgent requests. If a mother could not find adequate medical care for her child, Eva saw to it that the child was taken care of. If a family lived in squalor, she arranged for better living quarters. Eva Perón Tours Europe Despite her good deeds, Eva Perón had many critics. They accused Eva of overstepping her role and interfering in government affairs.

This skepticism toward the first lady was reflected in negative reports about Eva in the press. In an effort to better control her image, Eva purchased her own newspaper, the Democracia. The newspaper gave heavy coverage to Eva, publishing favorable stories about her and printing glamorous photos of her attending galas. Newspaper sales soared. In June 1947, Eva traveled to Spain at the invitation of fascist dictator Francisco Franco . Argentina was the only nation that maintained a diplomatic relationship with Spain following WWII and had given financial aid to the struggling country. But Juan Perón would not consider making the trip, lest he be perceived as fascist ; he did, however, allow his wife to go. It was Eva's first trip on an airplane. Upon her arrival in Madrid , Eva was welcomed by more than three million people. After 15 days in Spain, Eva went on to tour Italy, Portugal, France, and Switzerland. After becoming well-known in Europe, Eva Perón was also featured on the cover of Time magazine in July 1947. Perón is Re-elected Juan Perón's policies became known as " Perónism," a system that promoted social justice and patriotism as its priorities.

President Perón 's government took control of many businesses and industries, ostensibly to improve their production. Eva played a major role in helping to keep her husband in power. She spoke at large gatherings and on the radio, singing the praises of President Perón and citing all of the things he had done to help the working class. Eva also rallied working women of Argentina after the Argentine Congress gave women the vote in 1947. She created the Perónist Women's Party in 1949. The efforts of the newly-formed party paid off for Perón during the 1951 election. Nearly four million women voted for the first time, helping to re-elect Juan Perón. But much had changed since Perón's first election five years earlier. Perón had become increasingly authoritarian, placing restrictions upon what the press could print, and firing—even imprisoning—those who opposed his policies. Evita's Foundation By early 1948, Eva Perón was receiving thousands of letters a day from needy people requesting food, clothing, and other necessities. In order to manage so many requests, Eva knew she needed a more formalized organization.

She created the Eva Perón Foundation in July 1948 and acted as its sole leader and decision-maker. The foundation received donations from businesses, unions, and workers, but these donations were often coerced. People and organizations faced fines and even jail time if they did not contribute. Eva kept no written record of her expenditures, claiming that she was too busy giving the money away to the poor to stop and count it. Many people, having seen newspaper photos of Eva dressed in expensive dresses and jewels, suspected her of keeping some of the money for herself, but these charges could not be proven. Despite suspicions about Eva, the foundation did accomplish many important goals, awarding scholarships and building houses, schools, and hospitals. An Early Death Eva worked tirelessly for her foundation and therefore was not surprised that she was feeling exhausted in early 1951. She also had aspirations to run for vice president alongside her husband in the upcoming November election. Eva attended a rally supporting her candidacy on August 22, 1951. The following day, she collapsed. For weeks thereafter, Eva suffered abdominal pain, but at first refused to let doctors perform tests.

Eventually, she agreed to exploratory surgery and was diagnosed with inoperable uterine cancer. Eva Perón was forced to withdraw from the election. On election day in November, a ballot was brought to her hospital bed and Eva voted for the first time. Perón won the election. Eva appeared only once more in public, very thin and obviously ill, at her husband's inaugural parade. Eva Perón died on July 26, 1952 at the age of 33. Following the funeral, Juan Perón had Eva's body preserved and was planning to put it on display. However, Perón was forced into exile when the army staged a coup in 1955. Amidst the chaos, Eva's body disappeared . Not until 1970 was it learned that soldiers in the new government, fearing that Eva could remain a symbolic figure for the poor—even in death—had removed her body and buried her in Italy. Eva's body was eventually returned and re-buried in her family’s crypt in Buenos Aires in 1976. Juan Perón, along with third wife Isabel , returned from exile in Spain to Argentina in 1973.

He ran again for president that same year and won for the third time. He died one year later. Eva Perón Biography - family, children, name, death, history, wife, school, mother, information, born, house Eva Perón Biography Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentine political leader Eva Perón was the second wife and political partner of President Juan Perón (1895–1974) of Argentina. An important political figure in her own right, she was known for her campaign for female suffrage (the right to vote), her support of organized labor groups, and her organization of a vast social welfare program that benefited and gained the support of the lower classes. Early years The youngest of five children of Juan Duarte and Juana Ibarguren, María Eva Duarte was born on May 7, 1919, in the little village of Los Toldos in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Following the death of her father, the family moved to the larger nearby town of Junín, where her mother ran a boarding house. At the age of sixteen, Evita, as she was often called, left high school after two years and went to Buenos Aires with the dream of becoming an actress.

Lacking any training in the theater, she obtained a few small parts in motion pictures and on the radio. She was finally employed on a regular basis with one of the largest radio stations in Buenos Aires making 150 pesos every month. Her pay had increased to five thousand pesos every month by 1943 and jumped to thirty-five thousand pesos per month in 1944. Partners with Perón In 1943 Eva met Colonel Juan Perón, who had assumed the post of secretary of labor and social welfare in the military government that had recently come to power. Eva developed a close relationship with the widowed Perón, who was beginning to organize the Argentine workers in support of his own bid for the presidency. Becoming Perón's loyal political confidante (one with whom secrets are trusted) and partner, she helped him increase his support among the masses. In October 1945, after Perón was arrested and put in prison by a group of military men who did not support him, she helped to organize a mass demonstration that led to his release. A few days later, on October 21, 1945, Eva and Juan Perón were married.

Eva Perón. Library of Congress . Now politically stronger than ever, Perón became the government candidate in the February 1946 presidential election. Señora de Perón participated actively in the campaign, something no Argentine woman had ever done. She directed her appeal to the less privileged groups of Argentine society, whom she labeled "los descamisados" (the shirtless ones). Influence in political affairs Following Perón's election, Eva began to play an increasingly important role in the political affairs of the nation. During the early months of the Perón administration she launched an active campaign for national women's suffrage, which had been one of Perón's campaign promises. Due largely to her efforts, suffrage for women became law in 1947, and in 1951 women voted for the first time in a national election. Eva also assumed the task of gathering the support of the working classes and controlling organized labor groups. Taking over a suite of offices in the Secretariate of Labor, Perón's former center of power, she used her influence to hire and fire ministers and top officials of the General Confederation of Labor, the chief labor organization in Argentina.

Although not given the official title, she acted as the secretary of labor, supporting workers' demands for higher wages and backing a number of social welfare measures. Helped the lower classes Because Eva came from a lower-class background, she identified with the members of the working classes and was strongly committed to improving their lives. She devoted several hours every day to meeting with poor people and visiting hospitals, orphanages, and factories. She also supervised the newly created Ministry of Health, which built many new hospitals and established a successful program to fight different diseases. A large part of Eva's work with the poor was carried out by the María Eva Duarte de Perón Welfare Foundation, established in June 1947. Its funds came from contributions, often obtained with force, from trade unions, businesses, and industrial firms. The foundation grew into an enormous semiofficial welfare agency that distributed food, clothing, medicine, and money to needy people throughout Argentina and on occasion to those suffering from disasters in other Latin American countries. Enjoying great popularity among the descamisados, Eva Perón helped greatly in maintaining the loyalty of the masses to the Perón administration.

On the other hand, her program of social welfare and her campaign for female suffrage led to considerable opposition among the gente bien (upper class), to whom Eva was unacceptable because of her humble background and earlier activities. Eva was driven by the desire to master those members of the government that had rejected her, and she could be cruel and spiteful with her enemies. Death and place in history In June 1951 it was announced that Eva would be the vice presidential candidate on the reelection ticket with Perón in the upcoming national election. Eva's candidacy was strongly supported by the General Confederation of Labor, but opposition within the military and her own failing health caused her to decline the nomination. Already suffering from cancer, Eva died on July 26, 1952, at the age of thirty-two. After Eva's death, which produced a huge display of public grief, Perón's political fortunes began to decline. He was finally removed from office by a military takeover in September 1955. Eva Perón's friends and enemies agreed that she was a woman of great personal charm. Her supporters have elevated her to popular sainthood as the champion of the lower classes.

The favorable portrayal of her in the play Evita, first staged in 1978, and in the 1997 film of the same name, brought Eva to the forefront of the American public. By a large part of the officer corps of the military, however, she is greatly despised. There is still considerable difference of opinion regarding her true role in the Perón administration and her true place in Argentine history. For More Information May 26, 2009 @ 3:15 pm Thank you so much! This was very very useful! Thanks again! GO EVA! Talecia Oct 27, 2009 @ 12:12 pm Eva is a great woman. This biography about her helped me sooo much with the project that im doin about her. More people shoul check this out and then post your comment. Saul Oct 28, 2009 @ 6:18 pm This biography really helped me for my Spanish fluent speakers 2 project I'm doing on her. I got all my info from here. Thanks.

She sounded like a strong and a good woman Marki Smith Mar 15, 2010 @ 7:07 am I think this is a very informal artical. It brought forth very usefu information. I would like to thank the author for writig this. Thank you! Emma Feb 23, 2011 @ 9:21 pm I think that Evita definitely deserved at least some of the credit that this article gives her; however, I think that this does make the mistake of skimming over anything that puts her in a negative light, such as the controversy over her Rainbow Tour in Europe and whether the trip was for the sole purpose of depositing money in Switzerland, as some anti-Perónists believe. Otherwise, this was very helpful in giving general information about her life. Pam Sep 3, 2011 @ 12:12 pm I had to come to look for info on Evita after watching the musical film twice, I was intrigued by her charm, sophistication and how she fought for the Argentinian's democarcy.I had to go behind the scenes to find the real Evita. Very sad she had to die at such a tender age.

Francil Oct 12, 2011 @ 12:00 am She was great woman and the military and the upper-class were just jeolous of the attention the lower-class was getting. Deep inside they knew she was awesome at what she did for her people. BTW great information it really helped me with my project. Saga Of Eva Peron: 12 Years To Power Saga Of Eva Peron: 12 Years To Power By THE NEW YORK TIMES Ambitious, ruthless, untiring, clever and strikingly beautiful, Maria Eva Duarte de Peron had in large measure many of the qualities needed to lift her in a dozen short years from obscurity to fame, wealth and power on the unpredictable currents of Argentine political life. The child of a poor village landowner who had been separated from his first wife, she rose meteorically through a brief radio and motion picture career to become the first lady of her land and one of the most influential women in the Western hemisphere. Senora Peron's ascent and her important role in governmental affairs and propaganda were all the more remarkable for the contrast that they presented to the conservative social traditions of Latin America, where women previously were seldom seen, and never heard, in public life.

No less than her husband, Senora Peron was a controversial figure. To her supporters, among whom were the many recipients of her highly publicized charities, she approached the stature of a dazzling goddess. She was "la dama de la esperanza," the lady of hope. For her opponents, political and social, however, there were not words strong enough to express their dislike and envy of this blonde upstart, who seemed to have virtually taken over the country. The controversial aspect of the role of Senora Peron was by no means limited to Argentina. She became a truly international figure, a world-wide topic of conversation and invariably a subject of conjecture. Countless anecdotes--factual as well as apocryphal--pointed this up. The inevitably humorless way in which she lent herself to the promulgation of absolute peronismo was never better illustrated than on the day she had to undergo minor surgery. 'Viva Peron!' One of the Buenos Aires newspapers owned outright by the Government ran a front-page box, allegedly describing the moment that she was being wheeled into the operating room.

"Before they put me to sleep," she was quoted as having said, "if I do not awake--Viva Peron!" She was born May 7, 1919, in Los Toldos, a village of Buenos Aires province, youngest of five children of Juan Duarte and Juana Ibarguren. Her father died while she was still a child, and her mother moved to the near-by town of Junin and opened a boarding house. After two years of high school, still in her mid-teens, the slim blonde girl went to Buenos Aires on her own to seek an acting career. Through characteristic persistence, she was able to land a permanent job with Radio Belgrano, a major station, after several fruitless excursions into both radio and motion pictures. Finding favor with her employers and several government officials, she rose from a starting salary of $35 a month to about $1,000 a month in 1943, and seven times that figure the next year. In 1944 her monthly income was reportedly $15,000, half of which was paid for her motion-picture performances.

It was in 1943 that she met at a studio party Col. Juan D. Peron, a 49-year-old widower who was Under-Secretary of the War Ministry and a rising figure on the political scene. Both evidently were impressed, for a close association resulted, and they were married secretly in October, 1945. Aided Radio Employees Union Even before her marriage, Evita, as she preferred to be known, began to broaden her interests to suit those of her future husband. While he was becoming the champion of the "decamisados," originally the shirtless, and later the shirtsleeved ones, as Minister of Labor, she helped organize a radio employee's union and undertook her first campaigns for the underprivileged. When Colonel Peron was forced to resign from the Government in October, 1945, Senorita Duarte was dismissed from her radio post. Within a week, however, he had returned to power, and four months later he was elected President and took Senora Peron, then 26, to the executive mansion as his wife. From then on her activities, wealth and influence expanded rapidly.

She set up offices in the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, there holding daily audiences and distributing food, medicine and money to petitioners. In 1947 she incorporated the Maria Eva Duarte de Peron Welfare Foundation, which carried on much of this work. Spreading with her welfare work was her personal propaganda machinery. Large pictures of the handsome "presidenta" appeared throughout Argentina. Many of her gifts were accompanied by highly colored speeches emphasizing her warm heart, generosity and affection for the people. These sentiments were echoed by a large part of the Argentine press, which was coming under Peronista control financially as well as politically. Growth of Political Influence Although Senora Peron insisted repeatedly that she was only interested in social work, political observers began to credit her with influence in Government affairs that was second only to her husband's--if indeed that. In 1947 Senora Peron made a tour of Europe that was considered highly significant politically. She was feted with great enthusiasm in Madrid and decorated by Generalissimo Francisco Franco. In Rome she had a half-hour audience with Pope Pius XII, and was the subject of several leftist demonstrations.

She was received by President Vincent Auriol in Paris, but canceled plans to visit England. One of Senora Peron's several legislative triumphs was won in September, 1947, when a bill giving women the right to vote in Argentina was approved. This brought another round of eulogies from the press. The first lady's power to control unfavorable press commentary was considerable. Time magazine was banned in Argentina for four months after it published an article on Senora Peron that was not considered flattering. In 1948 her press campaign became avowedly personal with the publication of a weekly signed column, "Eva Peron Says." Her political influence was credited as being instrumental in forcing the resignation of the entire minority bloc in the Argentine Parliament in August, 1948. She took an active part in the campaign to "reform" the Argentine Constitution four months later. For nearly a month early in 1949 Army officials exerted pressure on the President to curb his wife's activities, but the movement was unsuccessful, and two months later she played an important role in the resignation of Dr. Juan Bramugha as Foreign Minister.

In the fall of 1950 reports were circulated in Buenos Aires that Senora Peron had ambitions for elective office. The rumors hinted that she would seek the Vice Presidency in the 1952 election on the ticket with her husband. Early in 1951 the Perons started a high-pressure campaign to have themselves drafted as a husband and wife team to run the country. By late August they had "agreed" to "accept" the nominations for President and Vice President of the Peronista party. After taking four days to make up her mind, Evita told a demonstration audience of 250,000 in Plaza Moreno that she and her husband would "do what the people want." Then on the last day of the month, she changed her mind and declined the nomination.

In a choked voice on the same broadcast that on which she had announced her decision, Senora Peron said she had hoped history would say: "There was a woman alongside General Peron who took to him the hopes and needs of the people to satisfy them, and her name was Evita." Senora Peron's book: "The Purpose of My Life," published in 1951, had the widest distribution of any book printed in Spanish in Argentina, and the Chamber of Deputies later made it compulsory reading in the schools. Evita Peron Biography - Historical Research Foundation Version Française To Be Evita © - Part I Buenos Aires, July 26, 1952. Argentina is wrapped in silence as the country listens to the official communique from the Subsecretariat of Information: "It is our sad duty to inform the people of the Republic that Eva Perón, the Spiritual Leader of the Nation, died at 8:25 P.M. From that initial silence sprang forth the sound of weeping and the sound of corks popping from champagne bottles. These sounds reflected the love and the hate that Evita inspired.

The sounds of weeping reached the street and took the form of interminable lines visible to all the world until the day of Evita's funeral on August 11th. The champagne glasses were raised in private. Each Argentine knew who Eva Perón was; some, however, based their knowledge on their feelings while others depended on the rational interpretation of facts. Tangible reality began to take the form of myth and those of us who did not share Evita's chronological space in time but wished to know her found that for many years our way was blocked by silence. "We Do Not Speak of That" is not only the title of an Argentine film but also a signpost of our history. The works that were published, the movies that were filmed, the voices that even today are raised in praise or condemnation confirm that Eva Perón has transcended both time and myth. If life is a continual choice and we continue to evolve until the hour of our death, then on July 26, 1952, Evita, the child born thirty-three years ago in a small Argentine town, had reached the end of her journey: she had become forever Evita.

Los Toldos Her story began on May 7, 1919, in Los Toldos, Province of Buenos Aires, when Juana Ibaguren gave birth. Four siblings preceded her: Elisa, Blanca, Juan and Erminda. Her father, Juan Duarte, had arrived in Los Toldos at the beginning of the century and had leased the farmland of La Unión with the goal of making it prosper. Everyone knew that the soil of the region was good for livestock and for agriculture. Juan Duarte belonged to an influential family in Chivilcoy and he and Adela d'Huart had several children there. Prosperous and prestigious among the Conservatives of the area, patrón of an estancia, typical leader in the political struggles of the time, Juan Duarte was named Deputy Justice of the Peace in 1908. But 1919 was not a good time for Conservatives. After long years of struggles, revolutionary in the beginning and abstentionist later, assured of electoral victory by the Saenz Peña Law after years of electoral fraud, the Radical Party headed to the polls and walked away with the power. After the Radical Party President Dr.

HipólitoYrigoyen dismantled the machinery which had prevented freedom of expression in the provinces, the Conservatives lost their last bastion in the Province of Buenos Aires. The Conservative Mayor and personal friend of Juan Duarte was replaced by the Radical Jose A. Vega Muñoz. Juan Duarte's star began to decline and economic difficulties appeared on the horizon. When he was offered the job of administering fields in the neighboring vicinity of Quiroga, the family moved there but only stayed for a year. Erminda attended first grade in Public School Number One, but Evita was still too small to don the obligatory Argentine schoolchild's white smock. Since Quiroga did not offer them the opportunities they had hoped for, the family returned to Los Toldos. While the older children had enjoyed their father's times of economic bonanza, the younger ones knew only the times of scarcity. Their situation became even more serious when Juan Duarte died on January 8, 1926, after a car accident in Chivilcoy. Juan Duarte's funeral has been presented in both literary and dramatic form many times over. The rejection that Eva's family supposedly experienced is at the core of these presentations.

Blanca and Erminda, Evita's surviving sisters, categorically deny these scandalous versions. Their half brothers and sisters had already lost their mother. Eloisa Duarte (their half sister) has a son, Raúl Guillermo Muñoz, who has stated in a document witnessed by a notary public that the two families have always maintained a cordial relationship. From that time on, the problem of survival "became a struggle which took on a new aspect each day," as Erminda Duarte remembers in her book, My Sister Evita (pg. 20). Doña Juana sat at her Singer sewing machine day after day, sewing and sewing, never complaining, ignoring her doctor's orders to rest her ulcerated legs. "I have no time. If I rest, how can I work, how can we survive?" (ibid, pg. 31). Elisa worked at the post office. Blanca studied to be a teacher in the pampas town of Bragado. Eva began primary school when she was eight. She attended first and second grade in Los Toldos.

Her childhood was spent in contact with nature, climbing trees, raising silkworms, playing hide-and-seek, hopscotch and tag, wearing homemade costumes which replaced store bought toys and made her into whatever she wanted to be. Her sister Erminda was her inseparable playmate and her brother Juan fulfilled their wishes: he made kites and even a piano with keys that moved; he was the architect who constructed their playhouses and the ringmaster of their circuses. Elisa and Blanca nourished their childhood fantasies with bedtime stories. Junín In 1930 Juana decided to leave Los Toldos with her "tribe," as she liked to call her family, to seek a better fortune in the nearby town of Junin, where Elisa had been transferred. Blanca would soon begin teaching at the Sacred Heart School and Juan would find work in the town's pharmacy. Erminda began secondary school at the Colegio Nacional and Eva was registered in third grade at Public School #1, Catalina Larralt de Estrugamon.

In Junin at lunchtime three people sat down at the family table because they preferred Doña Juana's homemade cooking over anything else the small town had to offer; with time they would become part of the family. Major Alfredo Arrieta, Commander of the Military District, would marry Elisa. Don José Alvarez Rodriguez, rector of the Colegio Nacional, came with his brother, Dr. Justo José Alvarez Rodriguez, who would one day marry Blanca. In Junin, the childhood theatricals of Los Toldos were replaced by roles on a real stage. Eva began to stand out for her ability to recite poetry. In her autobiography, The Reason For My Life, she would say, "Even as a little girl I wanted to recite. It was as though I wished to say something to others, something important which I felt in my deepest heart." (pg.21) The Commission of the Artistic and Cultural Center of the Colegio Nacional often organized theatricals.

Erminda was a member and even though Evita wasn't, she was still allowed to join the group and participate in a play called "Arriba Estudiantes." In Junin Evita's voice was broadcast for the first time over the loudspeakers installed in Prime Arini's "House of Music." Once a week the young people of the town would take the microphone in hand and display their artistic talent for singing, reciting, or declaiming. Evita's "profound artistic vocation" (as she herself spoke of her calling) was nourished by Junin's cinema, her teenage radio auditions and her collection of film star pictures. In Junin Evita had to make her first choice: "Shall I remain a small town girl and marry here as so many girls do? Shall I be a teacher like Blanca? Or an employee like Elisa?" By 1935 Evita had made up her mind: "I'II be an actress. The characteristics of Evita's personality fit her vocation. She herself would say in La Razón de Mi Vida, her autobiography, "Like the birds, I've always preferred the freedom of the forest.

I haven't even been able to tolerate that minimum loss of freedom which comes from living with your parents or in your hometown. Very early in life I left my home and my hometown and since then I've always lived free. I've wanted to be on my own and I have been on my own." (La Razón de Mi Vida, C.S. Ediciones, Buenos Aires, 1995, pgs. 193-194). The circumstances which surround Evita's leavetaking from Junin have generated countless versions, the most common of which involves Augustín Magaldi, nicknamed the "Gardel of the Provinces" [Carlos Gardel was a famous Argentine tango singer]. Depending on which version you hear, he's either interceding with Doña Juana, at Evita's request, to obtain her permission for Evita to go to Buenos Aires, or simply providing Eva with letters of introduction which will open the doors of stardom for her. Erminda's memory of the conflict caused by Evita's unshakable decision to go to Buenos Aires and Doña Juana's no less unshakable desire to prevent her from going, contradicts the Magaldi versions.

After pondering the words of José Alvarez Rodriguez, who advised her not to stand in the way of her daughter's vocation, Doña Juana gave in. "The rector insisted so much, that Mother, clenching her teeth, took you to Buenos Aires. Doña Juana returned alone, "furious with the Rector of the Colegio Nacional, furious with everyone, "having left Eva in the home of friends of the family, the Bustamantes" (Duarte, Erminda: op. cit., pg. 71). The little girl of Los Toldos and Junin had been left behind. Together with a few personal possessions placed in a suitcase and lost over the course of the years, Eva took with her the pedaling sound of the New Home Sewing Machine, the remembrance of toys wished for but never obtained, the impact of the discovery that there are poor and rich in the world and the emotional indignation felt when faced with injustice... these things she would always keep. Eva Duarte Actress Eva was just one more provincial to arrive in the great city during the '30's. More and more people with brown skin and provincial accents were coming into greater Buenos Aires.

Just as in the Creek theater, Buenos Aires presented two masks, one comic, the other tragic. These were times of misery, unemployment, and hunger in a country which was one of the major producers of food in the world. These times were captured in the lyrics of the tango "Yira"... "when you split your shoes looking for some money so you can buy food," sang Gardel. The industrialization process which began during the early part of the decade absorbed the workers pushed by the crisis to flee the interior and come to Buenos Aires. The upper and middle classes regarded these dark-skinned workers with horror. Buenos Aires had been a city of white skins and European architecture. Its inhabitants were not used to slums and "yesterday's mate [ herbal tea] drying in the sun" so it could be used again. The owners of the palaces on Avenida Alvear, the oligarchs, members of the landowing aristocracy, were used to traveling to Europe. They were not used to the slap-in-the-face reality of tenements and slums on their own doorstep.

Immersed in this reality, Eva Duarte dedicated ten years to her "passion for the arts." In 1945, having achieved the right to be considered a "star," she said in an interview for the movie magazine Radiolandia, "I am not an adventuress, although some (those who never forgive a young woman for succeeding) make me out to be one. I have spent more than five years dedicated to what is in me a firmly-rooted vocation: the arts. These have been five years of troubles, of noble struggles when I've known the uncertainty of adversity as well as the gratification of success" (Radiolandia, April 7, 1945). Soon after arriving in Buenos Aires, Eva joined the Argentine Comedy Company (Compañía Argentina de Comedias), headed by Eva France, a front line actress on the Argentine stage.

On March 28, 1935, she debuted with a small part in the vaudeville production, "La Señora de los Perez." The critic Augusto Guibourg wrote in his review, "Eva Duarte was very good in her small part" Crítica, March 29, 1935). She would not always be fortunate enough to be mentioned but she stayed with the Company until January of 1936, always playing in bit parts in "Cada casa es un mundo" , "Mme. San Gene" and in "La Dama, el Caballero, y el Ladrón. In May of 1936 she went on tour with the Company belonging to Pepita Muñoz, José Franco and Eloy Alvarez, and in December she joined the Company of Pablo Suero in a new play, "Los Inocentes." In the early months of 1937 she was still with Suero's company when they performed for a few days in Montevideo. When she returned to Buenos Aires she joined the company of Armando Discépolo, considered to be one of the best directors of those times.

On March 5, 1937, "La Nueva Colonia," written by L. Pirandello, opened in the Teatro Politeama. In spite of the good reviews, the play was a failure at the box office. Augusto Guibourg noted that, "Juanita Sujo, Eva Duarte, Anita Jordan and Jordana Fain acted gracefully together in scenes that were skillfully directed" (Crítica, May 5, 1937). In August Eva appeared for the first time on the big screen. She had obtained a small contract to act in the film, "Segundos Afuera." At the same time Radio Belgrano offered her a contract to participate in the radio theater drama, "Oro Blanco. In the following years she would act simultaneously in the theater, in the movies and on the radio. As was customary among actresses, she made incursions into the areas of publicity and graphic arts. From 1938 to 1940 Eva appeared on the Buenos Aires stage as part of the companies of Pierina Dealissi, Camila Quiroga, and Leopoldo Tomás Simari. Her appearances in the movies were less frequent.

She was in "La Carga de los Valientes," "El más infeliz del pueblo" and "Una novia en apuros." She had to wait until 1944 to have a more important role in "La Cabalgata del Circo." She was the star of the movie "La Pródiga" in 1945, but it was never released to the public. In his book, Días de Radio (Radio Days), Cesar Ulanovsky affirms, "By the beginning of the 1940's very few people doubted the sentiments and the effects that radio was capable of producing. Behind the polished walnut or mahogany cabinets were hidden the national identity documents of the era: multitudes of dreams, unleashed imagination, talented people trained in all the different kinds of entertainment ranging from drama to humor. Radio dictated the limits of possibility where fiction and reality mingled and singing voices raised or lowered the volume of people's lives as if illusion or disillusion were a sort of resounding destiny" (Ulanovsky, César: Días de Radio, ed. Espasa-Calpe, Buenos Aires, 1995, p. 121).

Eva Duarte had climbed up that stage early on and would continue to affirm her right to be there. In 1939 she and Pascual Pelliciotta headed the Company of the Theater of the Air, first in Radio Mitre, then in Radio Prieto. On May 1, 1939, the soap opera "Los Jasmines del '80" was broadcast for the first time. Eva's radio programs appeared on the Radio Argentina, El Mundo, and, finally, in 1943, on Radio Belgrano when she began a series which would continue until 1945, "The Biographies of Illustrious Women," among them Elizabeth I of England, Sarah Bernhard, Margarita Well de Pat, Isadora Duncan, Mme. Chiang Kai Shek, Catherine the Great. "I was lucky," she said in the Radiolandia interview, "to go from one microphone to the next until I came to the one which for me is the best radio has to offer. In Radio Belgrano I found people who believed in my possibilities.

Here I have reached the height of my career, a very rewarding career which began modestly but grew as I dedicated myself to my work, as I strove to perfect myself and to assimilate the very valuable lessons I received. When Eva Duarte actress leaves the radio stage Eva Perón will take her place. Her voice will continue to reach each home, not as the incarnation of another woman's but as her own. By then she will have made a commitment to a cause and to a man, to Colonel Juan Domingo Perón. To Be Evita © Evita Peron Historical Research Foundation Translation by Dolane Larson Hecho el depósito que marca la ley 11.723 May not be reproduced in total or partial form without authorization of the FIHEP April, 1997 This site is developed & maintained by the family of Evita Perón. Our purpose is to make known the life and legacy of Evita Perón. Except where otherwise noted, all contents copyright © 1998-2011, E.P. Historical Research - All rights reserved worldwide.

Question: What was the last name of power couple Eva and Juan?
Answer: Perón