Perón, Eva Duarte de, << pay ROHN, AY vah DWAHR tay day >> (1919-1952), was the second wife of President Juan Perón of Argentina. Eva, also called Evita, helped Perón rise to power and became one of the most famous women of her day.
Eva Perón was born Maria Eva Duarte in Los Toldos, near Buenos Aires, on May 7, 1919. Her family was poor, and she went to Buenos Aires at the age of 15 to become an actress. She met Perón in 1944 when she was a successful radio actress, and married him in 1945. In 1946, he became president of Argentina. Eva began to serve as his contact with the country’s labor unions. In 1948, she established a women’s branch of Perón’s political party.
In 1951, Eva tried to join her husband in the government by running for vice president. But leading Argentine military officers feared that in time she might succeed to the presidency, and they blocked her candidacy. The officers opposed her mainly because they could not accept the idea of a woman becoming the nation’s president and top military commander. Eva died of cancer on July 26, 1952. Her life inspired the stage musical Evita (1978) and a motion picture with the same name in 1996.
See also Perón, Juan Domingo .
