My Neighbor, Evita

In all of my postings, I don't think I've yet written about Eva "Evita" Peron, arguably Argentina's most famous person. She is actually a neighbor of mine, buried in Recoleta Cemetery, just eight blocks from my apartment. Every weekend, the cemetery is mobbed with tourists and Argentines alike on a quest to find the Duarte mausoleum. There are no signs posted directing visitors, so if you are too cheap to buy the map on the way in, you are stuck wandering through dozens of rows of ornate mausoleums to find it (or you can discreetly join a tour group and follow them).

Eva's corpse probably has done more international travel than most Americans alive today have. After her death, her widow, Juan Peron, was overthrown in a miltary coup in 1955 (that's a real surprise for Argentina). The military hid the corpse (which had been preserved) from the public for fear that it would be used to rally the masses to topple their government. They moved it from building to building, yet admirers continued to find it, leaving flowers, poems, and candles. The military dictators finally wised up and shipped the corpse to Italy, where it remained for over a decade before being given to Juan Peron in a political deal. Evita's body was eventually brought back to Argentina by Isabel Peron, Juan's third and final wife.

The history of the impressive preservation of Eva's body is quite fascinating and can be easily googled. Even more impressive was the state funeral for her - similar to that of J.F.K. or Ronald Reagan. This video shows some coverage of the procession along Avenida de Mayo and the hundreds of thousands who turned out to pay their final respects to this Argentine icon.