An important person in Argentinian history is a woman who was a real “rags-to riches” story and is known throughout the world by plays or movies about her life. This Argentinian is Eva Perón or better known as “Evita”. Born on May 7, 1919 in Los Toldos, Argentina, she was born into a poor family as an illegitimate child. Her biological father was a ranch manager and her mother was his mistress. When she was seventeen, she left to go to Buenos Aires to start an acting career and three years later had a career as a radio and film actress. In January 1944, Evita met her future husband Juan Perón, and future president of Argentina, at a fundraising event to help earthquake victims. When her husband became president in 1946, Evita became active in politics to help the poor and to grant women the right to vote which became legal on September 23, 1947. She also had many critics especially in the military and the wealthy elite. Even with criticism from the military she tried to become the vice-president candidate with her husband on the ballot. She later decided not to run because of her health problems with cancer. Evita soon died on July 26, 1952 and millions crowded into Buenos Aires for her funeral. Her political activism has made possible the right to vote for women which later formed the Perónist Women’s Party and helped the poor by starting the Eva Perón Foundation for Charitable Works. She is important to Argentinian history because she fought for the rights of millions in her country and is an inspirational person to look up to. The champion for the underdog, I picked her as the Argentinian artifact because she is well beloved in her country and the world.
