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Eva Peron – Princess Diana in Argentina?

The latest news on the return of the famous Broadway musical Evita with Ricky Martin in a starring role the entertainment press whipped into a frenzy. But many of us still wondering who Evita's what she did and why she deserves her own musical.

María Eva Duarte de Perón (1919-1952) was the second wife and political partner president Juan Perón (1895'1974) in Argentina. She is also popularly known by the affectionate Spanish diminutive Evita, which translates to "Little Eva". Still an extremely popular figure in Argentina and a global icon because of books, movies and musicals based on her life, many consider her comparison with another global superstar, England's Princess Diana. Here we look at similarities and differences in both women to see whether the comparison is justified.

It's fair to say that both Evita and Diana, despite living almost 50 years apart in different continents, were similarities;

– Both married powerful men, Diana with Prince Charles and Evita to Colonel Juan Peron. They met in 1943 when Peron had assumed the post of secretary for Labour and Social Welfare in the military government that had recently come to power. Two years later they were married in 1945, where Evita Peron assisted with his release from prison after his arrest by military resistance. Peron's presidency in 1946 assumed soon after, and Evita close relationship with Peron gave her access to a lot of power.

– Both Diana and Evita shared a passion for the poor and sick during the 1946 presidential campaign Evita addressed her efforts against the "descamisados" (Shirtless poor) and her efforts for women's suffrage as laws passed in 1947 that allowed women to vote in 1951 elections for the first time in history. She has also completed several hours each day to meet with poor people and visiting hospitals, orphanages, and factories. In addition, she monitored the newly created Ministry of Health, who built many new hospitals and established a successful program to combat various diseases.

– Much like Diana, Evita was a constant figure in the public eye. As a result she, like Diana, was extremely fashion conscious. Her clothes and hairdo were avidly studied, annotated and copied.

– Both women died young, Evita of cervical cancer at the age of 33 In both cases there were huge outpouring of public grief. All activity in Argentina stopped; movies stopped playing, restaurants were closed and patrons were shown the door. Audience outside the official presidential election residency after the notice of her death was so close that the streets were congestion ten blocks in each direction. The streets of Buenos Aires streamed with flowers which were stacked in large piles, and within a day of Evita's death, had all flower shops Buenos Aires sold out.

– Like Diana legacy and reputation has endured after her death, Evita's demise does not seem to have stopped her international fame. In 1980 won Andrew Lloyd Weber and Timothy Rice's musical "Evita" a major award and started the ball for an increase in her popularity. After a nearly 20-year production delays, was cast Madonna in the title role for the film version, which brought Evita as a figure for the international public spotlight more than 50 years after her death.

Yet for all the similarity, shared Diana and Evita some fundamental differences;

– Born into an unmarried family of 5 children, Evita's The background was humble to say the least. Her father left her mother a year after her birth, and as a result of impoverishment after the loss of his support income, the family moved to the poorest part of their city. To support herself and her children, Evita mother sewed clothes for neighbors. The family was stigmatized by the abandonment by the father, especially since the Argentine law frowned upon illegitimate children.

– Evita's strong political commitment throughout most of her public life is her markedly from Diana. In spite of using it as a platform for humanitarian agendas, but also opened her up to criticism when Peron administration was seen by many as a fascist, ruthless to suppress political opposition from an authoritarian centralized government.

– Diana was known for raising money for charity, just as Evita did, but put questions surrounded the money Evita traveled for some reasons. Many claim that she extracted large sums from wealthy businessmen of intimidation. She was also accused of keeping the amount for her own purposes, to buy jewelry and dresses. Her European tour in 1947, a highly publicized case in which Evita visited various heads of state, was ridiculed by some as an excuse to deposit money into a Swiss bank account, some of which would be earmarked for charitable donations.

Regardless of comparisons, Evita certainly stands alone as a unique historical figure who managed to achieve near-saint and phenomenal popularity of the Argentine lower classes; Visitors to Argentina can still see the lasting effect of Evita in the country. It is said that in many homes, the image of Evita is on the wall next to the Virgin Mary. On 26 July 2002, the 50th anniversary of Eva Perón's death, a museum opened in Buenos Aires in her honor called "Museo Evita". The museum, which was created by her great-niece Cristina Alvarez Rodriquez, houses many of Eva Peron clothes, portraits, and artistic renderings of her life.

About the Author

Gary Sargent is the Managing Director of the tour companies Escaped to Peru and Escaped to Latin America and has lived in South America for over 10 years. Gary is passionate about life here, the people, customs and places and this is reflected in the
Latin American tours
that he offers. For a unique experience on one of his personalized
Argentina vacations
, contact Gary today.

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