Myth of Eva Peron - Article Example

It is believed that the best accessory and which is priceless at the same time, that a woman can wear is confidence. And indeed, an unfaltering confidence and indomitable will were the driving force that led Evita to become one of the most recognizable public figure, not only in Argentina, but in the whole world as well. It all began on May 7, 1919, in the forlorn little village of Los Toldos in Argentina, when Dona Juana Ibarguren, mistress of Juan Duarte, gave birth to her fifth child, baptized as Eva Maria Ibarguren, or in other books, her name was Maria Eva Ibarguren Duarte, but later on in history, was known simply as “Evita.” When their father left them to go back to his first family in Chivilcoy, he left them with almost nothing except for papers recognizing them as his children. Dona Juana had to earn a living as a seamstress, so as not to be perceived as impoverished, and she dressed her children well. Evita had always been remembered as a quiet child, small and thin with black hair and large staring brown eyes. At a very young age, she did understand that there were people who hated her and her mother, she was perhaps angry with her mother for having exposed her to that hatred (Fraser, Nicholas & Navarro, Marysa. Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron. New York, 1996. p5). At a very young age, in 1935, when she was barely sixteen years old, she left the town of Junin, by seducing a tango-singer Agustin Magaldi, who brought her to Buenos Aires in pursuit of her dreams. This version was told in the Hollywood musical “Evita,” which starred Madonna. However, little credence can be lent to this version because it was known that Agustin Magaldi used to travel with his wife at all times. In this phase of the life of Evita, it was rumored that her mother accompanied her to Buenos Aires and left her on her own to pursue her dreams. Then Evita had to experience staying in gloomy, dismal rooms, had almost gotten used to unemployment and had to endure rumors and innuendos regarding her reputation; because there were times when she was forced to take bit parts in unreliable theaters with predatory directors. By 1939, Evita had come to realize what she loved to do most, soap operas broadcast on the radio. In 1941 she had joined Radio El Mundo, and by 1943, she had already become a top-paying actress for radio, and she was already affiliated with Radio Belgrano. She did well in her voice portrayal of Maria Walewska, the mistress of Napoleon Bonaparte. Being young and eager to prove herself worthy of her career, she exuded charm and confidence, because she always gave her all in every task that she did. The meeting of Evita and Juan Peron can be blamed to the San Juan earthquake that occurred in 1944. Juan Peron was already the Secretary of Labor, a rising political power in Argentina, and he was tasked to organize the relief aids for the earthquake victims. He gathered some artists at the Luna Park Stadium on January 22, 1944, and this was the moment when he described Evita as very passionate in her unbridled desire to put into action the collection campaign for the earthquake victims. Before they got married on October 2, 1945, they were already living together without the blessing of a marriage, which was frowned upon for a political leader, especially when the image of Evita was seen as a prostitute, downright affirmed by those who envied her. Through it all, Evita was oblivious to the rumors circulating around her, and to this day, no one can say that her image as a prostitute had any basis at all. In many accounts about the life of Evita, not once was there any amount of reference made that Evita was ever unfaithful to Juan Peron. It is therefore interesting to quote Arturo Jauretche, who, as a writer, historian, and intellectual knew both Perόn and Evita from a point of view more favorable to Peronism than was typical of his type, concluded, "Eva, in spite of her fancy for the theatre, was a very unsexual girl. She didnt have that much interest in it. . . . And that was her affinity with Juan Perόn, because he too was not a sexual type. In that marriage two wills were united, two passions for power. It was not a marriage of love." (Crassweller, Robert D. Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina. W. W. Norton. New York. 1987. p133). Between them, romance must have meant seeing eye-to-eye politically about the plight of the descamisados, the shirtless ones, that they took it their responsibility to transform them in a place of prosperity in Argentina’s society. As the wife of the President, Evita helped the poor and the laborers attain better luck. She did not display at the outset her ability to function as a political wife, as her transformation to public affairs as a woman was not instant. She did a lot of observation, and in retrospect of Juan Peron’s intelligence, his talent in speech and extemporaneous debates that were quite phenomenal; and of course derived also from her valuable experience as a radio talent, she managed to learn the art of speaking to her audience from the depth of her soul. Without so much the aid of education, Evita exhibited the kind of passion that earlier must have been suppressed, yet could not be hidden in the air of authority that she confidently exposed as a public servant. The nearest Evita came to speaking about her feelings was to evoke a sense of outrage against injustice. “As far as I can remember the existence of injustice has hurt my soul, as if a nail was being driven into it. From every period of my life, I retain the memory of some injustice tormenting me and tearing me apart.” (Fraser, Nicholas Evita: The real life of eva Peron, p 5) Evita was so adept in pressuring for donations from the elite, the unions and the military, to give to the poor. Many times, the contributions were not given out wholeheartedly. Customarily, it was the Society of Beneficence, composed of elderly, society ladies who did the charitable works to the needy of Buenos Aires, and this society had been supported by the government of Argentina, because it had traditionally been headed by the First Lady. However, the Society of Beneficence erred when they snubbed Evita, and did not invite her to lead them. Their support from the government was totally cut-off and Evita established her own Evita Peron Foundation. Her foundation had contributed books to libraries, food for the hungry, medicines for the sick, homes for the poor, pension for the elderly and many valuable donations. Because of her foundation, thousands were employed. Unions supported the causes of Evita, the conditions of the laborers were improved. The church approved of her charitable works. The poor adored her, while the elite and the military hated her but could not do anything. The fame of Evita had spread internationally, that she was awarded a great honor, which was the Order of Isabel the Catholic. She was commended with the Cross of St. Gregory when she visited the Pope in the Vatican and the tomb of St. Peter. In her travels, her fashion sense was criticized, so she bought sets of wardrobe according to Paris fashion, when she got back to Argentina. Her most notable success, was when she helped pass into law the long-awaited 13,010 Argentine Law, giving right to women to vote in political elections, in the process, the women were allowed to help make crucial decisions toward making Argentina a better place to live in. This gave Evita the reason to establish the Female Peronist Party, and in no time, women flocked towards the organization, because to their mind, they have Evita to thank for empowering them. How the grief of the citizens of Argentina was depicted in the movie Evita, portrayed by Madonna, was quite fitting, as it showed how they really mourned for the loss of Evita at the age of thirty three, due to uterine cancer. The fact that her body was mummified through the efforts of Juan Peron as he was truly devastated by the demise of Evita, is one way of showing his desire to immortalize the memory of Evita. To this day, Evita is still a myth and a legend. Her face can be seen in stamps and coins. The Vatican has received several requests to have her canonized. Evita has been immortalized in any number of books, movies, poems, paintings and other works of art. (Sabsay, Fernando. Protagonistas de América Latina, Vol. 2. Buenos Aires: Editorial El Ateneo, 2006). A museum and its historical research library housed in a beautiful hotel in Palermo, were inaugurated on July, 2002, by Evita’s grandniece, Cristina Alvarez Rodriguez, as a reverential valentine to the first lady’s memory. ( Murphy-Larronde, Suzanne. “Remembering Evita” Americas. Vol. 60, Issue 2. Organization of American State. March – April, 2008. p3). She continues to be an inspiration to those who loved her. Peronism, deemed as one of the most significant political ideologies in Argentina is still associated with Evita and Juan Peron. It must be distinctly studied how it came about that Evita and Juan Peron understood each other. There could not have been a Peronism without Juan Peron, who at the early stage of his career already showed ambitions that were inconspicuously hidden from public observation, but it can be suspected that he bared all his plans, dreams and ambitions with Evita. No matter what the political party or crusade, it will inevitably be contextualized in relation to Peronism. This attests to the tremendous influence of the party and of its most beloved figure, former First Lady Eva Perón, on the people. (Foster, William, Lockhart, Melissa, and Lockhart, Darrell. Culture and Customs of Argentina. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. p39). Surely, Evita is a legacy by herself. Her blind dedication to her mission of making Juan Peron the President, and perhaps keeping him there for all eternity, was immeasurable. In a way, she could have been guided by the Machiavellian theory, that the ends justify the means. The drive of Evita to prove to herself that she is a person better than the elite, might have been borne from the hardship of her upbringing. It could be surmised that she had to battle for confidence if only to fight off the inferiority complex bottled inside of her. It is possible that she was unforgiving for the way she and her family were abandoned by their father, the way the society looked down on them as illegitimates; and she was relentless in her ambition to eradicate her past while determined to get on the road to creating a new and different Evita, if not for her death at the age of 33. Evita wanted something more: to change the society that rejected her. Or more accurately, she craved the exuberant love of the defeated classes that they usually reserve for a great savior and she also desired revenge on the heartless oligarchy and its middle class servants. (Stew, Albert. “Evita.” Tikkun. Volume: 12. Issue: 2. March/April 1997. ProQuest LLC. 1997). It was sad for Evita that her rising power and wealth were short-lived, having died on July 26, 1952, and enjoyed the life of a first lady for only six years. Moreover, she had failed in her bid to run as vice president to Juan Peron, already because of her worsening illness and the heightened opposition from the elite and the military. It is quite ironic, that little did Evita and Peron know, that oblivious to one another, their view of each other were similar: Perόn was concentrating on the concept of their mutual abnegation in the name of public service. . ”our private life as totally subordinated to the political and social calling . . a veritable tyranny to which we submitted ourselves as if it were a mission.” (Crassweller, Robert D. Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina. W. W. Norton. New York. 1987. p133). Works Cited: Crassweller, Robert D. Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina. W. W. Norton. New York. 1987. p133. Foster, William, Lockhart, Melissa, and Lockhart, Darrell. Culture and Customs of Argentina. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. p39. Fraser, Nicholas & Navarro, Marysa. Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. p5. Murphy-Larronde, Suzanne. “Remembering Evita” Americas. Vol. 60, Issue 2. Organization of American State. March – April, 2008. p3. Sabsay, Fernando. Protagonistas de América Latina, Vol. 2. Buenos Aires: Editorial El Ateneo, 2006. Stew, Albert. “Evita.” Tikkun. Volume: 12. Issue: 2. March/April 1997. Institute of Labor and Mental Health. ProQuest LLC. 1997. Read More