Eva Perón Video Showcase

María Eva Duarte de Perón (May 7, 1919 - July 26, 1952) was the second wife of Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón (1895-1974) and the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952.

She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita, which literally translates into English as "Little Eva". Born out of wedlock in rural Argentina in 1919, at age 15 Eva Duarte made her way to the nation's capital of Buenos Aires where she pursued a career as a stage, radio, and film actress. Eva met Colonel Juan Perón in 1944 at a charity event in Buenos Aires. The two were married by the following year. In 1946 Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina, making Eva Perón became First Lady of the nation. Over the course of the next six years, she became powerful within the Pro-Peronist trade unions, essentially for speaking in behalf of labor rights. She also founded the charitable Eva Perón Foundation, and the nation's first large-scale female political party, the Female Peronist Party.

In 1951, Eva Perón expressed a desire to be allowed to run for the office of Vice-President of Argentina. In this bid she received great support from the Peronist political base, low-income and working class Argentines referred to as descamisados or "shirtless ones". However, opposition from the nation's military and elite, as well as her declining health, ultimately prevented Eva Perón's candidacy.

In 1952, shortly before her death, Eva Perón was given the official title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation". Source: Wikipedia - Eva Perón

Photo author: Maulleigh from flickr.com