We cancelled Sunday's travel plans due to bad weather, and figured we would knock another item off of our never-ending to do list and check out the Evita museum. This museum opened in Palermo about 9 years ago, on the 50th anniversary of Evita's passing. It was one of the most legitimate museums, especially about one individual, that I have ever seen and noted the history and accomplishments of Eva Perón (Evita).
Each room was supported with passages from Evita's autobiography, La Razón por mi Vida, The Reason for My Life. Beginning with her death and then starting again in her youth, the museum taught me what Eva Perón accomplished in terms of worker and women's rights, the Peronist movement in Argentina, social work programs, children's homes and so much more. The rooms contained materials such as Eva's possessions, materials and furniture collected from her home, past and centers, photos, video clips of important times, and an explanation of background information with quotes from Evita's book, pictured below.
Passion, courage, Work, Dignity, Greatness, Solidarity
Values of Eva Perón
Some of Evita's evening gowns
Evita was a woman who was made well-off by marriage, originally coming from an impoverished family in the suburb of Junín (which we drove by today!). Eva & her four siblings were born out of wedlock and at her father's family when she was 5 years old, his relatives were embarrassed by the children so they were not allowed into the service. The museum began with this early life, and moved on to Evita's move to Buenos Aires to act and work in the radio industry as a 15-year-old. She met Juan Perón at an earthquake benefit event at Luna Park, another venue I walk by every day on my way to work in Buenos Aires. These coincidences became so frequent that after arriving home from the museum, we watched the entire 2 1/2 hour movie and noted all the places we had been to or recognized, and how much sense the movie made based on how clear the history was presented.
Eva became active in politics as Perón's husband, and focused on helping out the lower classes regardless of her standing at the time. Mentioned in La razón por mi vida, Evita says that the two greatest conditions she got to experience were the love of the poor and the hatred of the oligarchy. She felt no shame for anything, and had no reason to. She proceeded to initiate a variety of programs and open children's homes, a nursing school and many places to help the general public, all of which succeeded. She led women in their right to vote and other actions, as seen in the photo below:
A picture of Evita immediately after she was elected
President of the Women's Peronist Party
Evita passed at only 33 years old due to cancer, and I cannot even imagine how much more she would have accomplished if she had lived longer. She had already been recognized by the Pope, the countries of Spain and Italy, and more on a tour of Europe. I'm glad I waited to watch Evita so attentively (shoutout to my Nouno Peter- thanks for buying it for me!) until I comprehended all this history, and can understand what a significant impact her actions had on Buenos Aires and Argentina as a country. She has all of my respect and truly inspires everyone to be proactive, change what is wrong in the world and be successful in what you do. I encourage everyone to read up or watch the movie Evita and try to understand the impact one woman had on the country.
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This Evita knowledge might have been overwhelming, but didn't stop our agenda in Buenos Aires from ending with more than one thing. On our walk home, we found the notable Carlos Thays- Saturnalia Botanical Garden in Palermo. Filled with more cats than any park we've ever been to, we took a pit stop and saw the variety of art, statues and plants that fill this garden. Pretty sight!
Roommates in Carlos Thays' park
It was a pretty historical day and has inspired me to pursue more insight on life during Evita's time!
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