Continuing my South American Series, I am sharing with you my personal insight on the life of an archetype of passion, strong spirit and leadership – Eva Peron.

Evita on her balcony

Represented, first and foremost, the Argentine character, inherited by her vision of the gaucho or locals from the Argentinean Pampas – an indomitable and arrogant vision. She was never tied to formal conventions. She harmed the interests of the privileged and benefited the most humble. She had, as they say today, a preference for the poor. Evita’s entire management was destined to head in that direction.

On my trip to the La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires, I had the privilege of seeing the famous tomb of María Eva Duarte de Perón, the woman we know as Evita. The secured crypt is adorned with fresh flowers even after half a century has past since her death.

Eva Peron was neither classist nor Christian Democrat or Marxist. She was just Peronist. She wasn’t a “light” woman but one of a tough and heavy kind who fought against her enemies and protected her “grasitas descamisados”, the working class – a class from which she proudly declares she came from – having been born to an unwed mother and worked at the age of 16.  It is worth recalling an anecdote: Evita, from a car that takes her to a gala reception, sees an elderly woman crying in front of a bank. She gets off, goes inside the bank with the lady and asks” “Who was the son of a bitch who told this lady to come again tomorrow?.

Evita was convinced that the political project of her husband, General Juan Peron, of a fair Argentina with a free economy and sovereign policy was possible. She fought for its establishment until the end.

Eva Peron has often been credited with gaining for Argentine women the right to vote. She created the Female Peronist Party, which was the first large female political party of the nation. People say, female suffrage was an achievement exclusively hers. She also fought for illegitimate children to gain the same rights as those born to legally wed parents.

She was a straight and mature woman who was in love with her husband and her people. For her devotion, she was crowned with the title “Argentina’s Spiritual Leader.” Her early death at the age of 33 caused her whole nation to stop in grief and transformed her into a founding myth for the Argentine people as Joan of Arc was for the French. In fact, people have always spoken about Evita’s secret. Her confessor, Father Hernan Benitez, has stated many times that “She walked into the path of God.”

Eva Peron’s passion and strong spirit enabled her to accomplish achievements that impact people’s lives until today. Notwithstanding poverty, the fact that she was born to unwed parents, and the ridicule and criticisms of others, she has willed herself to uplift her life and those around her even at a young age. With her devotion to a Higher Being and restless determination, she achieved a legacy that will forever be in the hearts of her Argentine people.

I visited La Recoleta Cemetery twice. For some reason its majestic architecture, the many tourists that visit it, and the memoirs of the dead remind me altogether on how precious life is.

More of the La Recoleta Cemetery on my blog soon! To see more of my photos on Argentina, log on to this Facebook page.