Argentines yearn for Evita, 70 years after her death

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — María Eva Noble says she is carrying out the legacy of her namesake as she labors in a soup kitchen in a working class neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

She was named after iconic Argentine former first lady María Eva Duarte de Perón, better known as Eva Perón, or Evita, who died 70 years ago Tuesday. The soup kitchen where Noble does volunteer duty in the Flores district gives daily lunches to about 200 people and is run by an organization that also carries the name of the late leader.

Though not related to Eva Perón, Noble says, “I carry Evita in my DNA.” And she is hardly the only one who feels this way.

Seven decades after her death, Evita continues to awaken passions in Argentina as her followers believe her image as a champion of the poor is more relevant than ever at a time when inequality and poverty are rising as the economy remains stagnated amid galloping inflation.

Evita has been the subject of countless books, movies, TV shows and even a Broadway musical but for some of her oldest, most ardent followers the connection with the actress turned political leader is much more personal.

Juana Marta Barro was one of dozens of people who lined up Tuesday morning to leave flowers and pay her respects at Evita’s tomb, located in the Recoleta neighborhood in Argentina’s capital.

With tears in her eyes, the 84-year-old Barro, daughter of a housekeeper, recalled how her life in northern Tucumán province improved after Evita came on the political scene, and she suddenly received better shoes and school uniform.

“It was thanks to her that I had my first backpack,” said Barro, who still recalls the excitement of seeing Evita pass by her town on a train. “She is a torch that shines in my heart.”

Evita was born in a modest home in Los Toldos, a small rural town some 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the capital, where she moved to when she was 15 to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. A decade later, she met Juan Domingo Perón, a military officer who was a government official.

Evita was by his side when Perón won the 1946 presidential election and went on to take an unprecedented role as a powerful first lady, putting herself at the forefront of women’s rights causes, including suffrage that was approved a year later and setting up a foundation to help workers and the poor.

As much as Evita was loved, she was equally hated by many of the country’s wealthy and powerful who were wary of her growing popularity and influence.

Her time in the spotlight was intense but brief as she died of cervical cancer at age 33, which led to an outpouring of grief in the streets as the South American country went into mourning.

Perón ended up being elected president two more times and was the founder of a political movement — Peronism — that dominates Argentine political life to this day, with many leaders of disparate ideological views claiming loyalty to the former general.

“Perón was respected, he was obeyed — you either agreed with what he said…