Amongst the younger generation, it is fairly safe to say that Eva Perón is known primarily as the woman Madonna portrayed in the musical film Evita.

Argentinians will agree however, that there was more to Perón than a movie and the following synopsis of her life is merely the tip of the iceberg.

María Eva Duarte was born in Los Toldos to a poor family. Early in her teens she wanted to spread her wings and at the age of 14, left home in search of fame and fortune in the big cities. Her career as a stage and radio actress went largely unnoticed and it wasn’t until 1945 that she really came into the limelight.

In 1945, Eva married widower Colonel Juan Perón, an Argentine soldier who had taken a leading part in the army coup of 1943 gaining him wide political support. In 1946, he became President and it was during his first term that Eva developed as an effectual yet unofficial political figure.

Unofficially, Eva performed the role of Minister of Health and Labour, bestowing wage increases on the unions who in turn gave their overwhelming support to her husband. She started the Eva Perón Foundation which was maintained by donations, a considerable part of the national lottery and other funds. These earnings were used to create schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly, and many other altruistic institutions. She also pushed for women’s right to vote which was achieved in 1951, just eight months before her death in July 1952.

Eva made many enemies in her lifetime but also had many friends and adoring fans. She was particularly loved by the lower economic classes who were devastated by her premature death caused by uterine cancer at the age of 33.

When her embalmed body was put on public display, 16 people were crushed in the push to get a last look at their cherished First Lady and another 4,000 people were treated for injuries in Buenos Aires hospitals. Eva Perón was loved by so many that a 20-block, four abreast line formed for days just to view her body.