Evita: Saint Or Sinner? :: essays research papers

Evita: Saint or Sinner?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Eva Peron is a fascinating one . Evita, as she is known, enjoyed a rise to power like no other. The details of this ascension are often disputed, making Santa Evita's tale all the more intriguing. . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maria Eva Duarte was born on May 7, 1919,1 the fifth and youngest illegitimate child of Juan Duarte and his mistress, Juan Ibarguen. The week of her birth was known as Tragic Week, when the army massacred striking workers, perhaps a foreshadow of what was to come in her life.2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eva spent her childhood in an adobe farmhouse, with farm animals and earthen floors. In the farming trade, Juan Duarte incurred many debts, eventually leaving him with nothing. Thus, early in her life, Eva learnt the humiliation of poverty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Duartes were further put down by the stiff Argentine caste system, which divided the poor from the wealthy. Being a bastard child, Eva and her four sisters were seen as 'brats,' and were stopped from associating with the other village children. Rejection, thrown upon young Eva through no fault of her own, would not be forgotten nor forgiven.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At age fifteen, Eva Duarte set out to become a radio actress. She knew she could be like the women in the movie magazines she either stole or borrowed from her friends. Eva met singer Agustin Magaldi, and, packed her bags and sneaked out of her mother's boarding house to the city of Buenos Aires.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once Eva learned the rules of the 'casting couch,' she dropped Magaldi and began her ascent to stardom. For years she wandered the streets, auditioned, and did whatever she had to do, no matter how distasteful. Eva gained modeling work and small parts in radio plays, frequenting nightclubs, and began to find better work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After several jobs in theatres, she was interviewed by the magazine Sintonia. After Eva started an affair with the magazine's owner, he began to give her good exposure. This led to jobs in the film industry. Though she made several, she had no talent to be seen in any of her films.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eva's body was what sold her to the masses. She could have any man that she wanted, and soon set her sights on Colonel Juan Peron, who had political ruthlessness, a passion for younger women (especially good-looking actresses), and was a 48-year-old widower.5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On January 15, 1944, San Juan Argentina was hit by a terrible earthquake. A gala benefit show was held to support the relief effort, where Eva and Colonel Peron first met. They were seen leaving the gala together.