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| Eva Duarte Peron : Former First Lady of Argentina |
The truth is
I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance
And as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed
They were all I desire
They are illusions
They're not
The solutions they promise to be
Was here
All the time
And hope you love me
Don't cry for me
Argentina
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| If you saw the movie, you will recognize the balcony on the left where the Perons spoke to crowds. They didn't want to use the middle balcony because it was "too far away from the people." |
What we couldn't estimate from the plaza in front of the presidential palace was the immense size of the crowds that gathered here to listen to the Peron's speeches.
People were crowded into the plaza and even climbed onto statues to attend speeches by the Perons. It some ways (not necessarily politically), it reminded me of speeches by Hitler.
We also visited the church on the Plaza Mayo where not only the Perons attended, but the current Pope Francis was the archbishop.
Cathedral Metropolitano located very close to the Presidential Palace. Former parish of Pope Francis
Interior of the Cathedral: All Gold at the altar.
Although I had been inside this cathedral before, I failed to remember that San Martin, liberator of South America, is buried here and is under a 24 hour a day armed guard. They aren't quite as formal as the queen's palace in the UK, but they do look spiffy!
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| Masoleum to San Martin under guard |
From here, we attempted to visit Evita's grave in the very beautiful Recoleta cemetery, but it is closed (unless you have a family member there) due to COVID. Her grave is believed to have healing powers, and you need only touch it for a variety of cures. It was not her initial resting place. After her death, her body was kidnapped and buried in Italy, then later returned via Spain (to her husband in exile) and eventually Argentina and Recoleta. The guide said her sister always said she would not have wanted to be buried in Recoleta with the "wealthy" unless it was to "piss them off."
Our next stop was the museum of Evita Peron which is housed in one of the homes she developed for single mothers. It was a refuge for them and their children, but the program also taught them a trade so that they could afford to live independently. I think Evita had a special place in her heart for single moms, as her mother was a "second wife and family" of sorts to a nobleman. Although her mother had several children with this man and he knew them and provided her mother support, her mom worked as a seamstress to make ends meet. The " illegitimacy " of Evita's birth was a cause for her to be a nuisance to polite society in all her power and position. She had her enemies who said at her death, "A score for cancer." Here is a bit about what we learned about her in this small but informative museum with many of her clothes and old photographs. 
Not sure why mama dressed up all the kids, but Evita is the smallest one on the far right dressed as a bee.
María Eva Duarte 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952, better known as just Eva Peron or by the nickname Evita, was an Argentine actress, politician, activist, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until her death in July 1952, as the wife of General Juan Domingo Peron (1895–1974). She was born in poverty in the rural village of Los Toldos, in the Pampas, as the youngest of five children. In 1934, at the age of 15, she moved to the nation's capital to pursue a career as a stage, radio, and film actress.
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| From her acting days |
She met Colonel Peron on 22 January 1944 during a charity event to benefit the victims of the earthquake in San Juan province. Theoretically, thereafter they were inseparable. They married the following year.
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| She definitely dressed more "Hollywood" than her prior leading ladies who tended to be a bit "buttoned up" and subdued...and rarely seen. |
Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina in June 1946; during the next six years, Eva Perón became powerful primarily for speaking on behalf of worker's rights. She also ran the Ministries of Labor and Health, founded and ran the charitable Eva Peron foundation championed women's voting rights in Argentina, and founded and ran the nation's first large-scale female political party, the Female Peronist Party.
In 1951, Eva Perón announced her candidacy for the Peronist nomination for the office of Vice President of Argentina, receiving great support from the Peronist political base, low-income and working-class Argentines who were referred to as decamisdos -- "shirtless ones". Opposition from the nation's military and landowners, coupled with her declining health, ultimately forced her to withdraw her candidacy. In 1952, shortly before her death from cancer at age 33, Eva Perón was given the title of "Spiritual Leader of Argentina" (I'm sure the archbishop of Argentina loved that!) She was given a state funeral upon her death, a prerogative generally reserved for heads of state. It lasted for fifteen days with millions visiting her grave as she lay in state. She was the first wife of a president to appear at his side, take an active role in politics and give speeches. Before that, the president's wife was pretty much just window dressing and stayed in the background silent. Evita caused a lot of controversy.
Cristina de Kirchner, the first woman elected President of Argentina, claims that women of her generation owe a debt to Eva for "her example of passion and combativeness". claims that Evita has never left the collective consciousness of Argentines. We see plenty of evidence around town that this is true--statues, posters, and urban art. The Peronist Party still lives on in Argentina.
We felt like we knew quite a bit more about Evita and something more about Peronism at the end
of the tour but we also realized we probably only scratched the surface. Our guide recommended
that we walk back to our hotel and visit to Ecoparque. She especially encouraged us to look for the
animal that "is a rodent, but looks like a cross between a deer and a rabbit." I don't personally much
care for zoos or animal captivity, but I was intrigued. It ended up the ecoparque was mostly under
renovation but we did see the animal, the mara, which is native to Patagonia.
We returned to the hotel through the Recoleta neighborhood where we might have found a pizza? 
The mara. It does have long legs and when eating, looks a bit like a rabbit .
We had dinner at an old favorite, Chila, which is on the waterfront area. It is a tasting menu and the chef is all about food as artwork. So even though we didn't go to an art museum today, we felt like we did! Warning: FOOD PORN ahead.
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| Light and refreshing cocktails |
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| Chila's take on bread and butter. |
Dinner was a treat and we got a beautiful moonrise and a view of the modern pedestrian bridge in both daylight and dark from the windows of Chila.
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| Modernist pedestrian bridge in moonlight |
And in daylight:
“I know that like every woman of the people, I have more strength than I appear to have”
―
Paul's Ponderings: Another great day in Buenos Aires. I learned a lot about the Perons, given
that my knolwedge was a bit skimpy and it was incredible to look at the old newsreels and see
the huge crowds in places we had stood a short while ago. Great food during the day and it
was quite warm here. We ended at Chila, where we had been in 2019, and it was better
than our memories, which is saying a LOT. Soon we'll be heading to a lot colder area!
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