Tag Archives: Juan Domingo Perón

Salma Hayek Produces Hulu Series “Santa Evita” About Argentina’s First Lady Eva Perón

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Salma Hayek is opening up about her latest project…

The 55-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated actress and producer, always one to support and push forward female-centric stories, recently produced the Hulu series Santa Evita via her Ventanarosa Production company.

Salma HayekThe series focuses on Argentina’s First Lady Eva Perón and stars Natalia Oreiro in the titular role.

The series, currently available to stream in its entirety, dives into some of the mysteries that followed Perón’s death, based on the novel of the same name from Tomás Eloy Martínez.

Perón, wife of Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón, died in 1952 from cervical cancer at the age of 33. Her body was embalmed following her husband’s orders—though it is unknown whether this was her wish—and remained unburied when her husband was ousted and fled the country.

Her remains eventually ended up in Italy and later Spain before finally resting in the family mausoleum in 1976—24 years later.

“Eva Perón is a super charismatic character and there have been so many [projects] made about her. But Santa Evita is based on a part of Evita’s story that is a mystery which is, following her death, she was embalmed by her husband, and then [her body] disappeared for nearly 20 years,” the Academy Award-nominee shared.

“So Tomás Eloy Martínez writes this thriller and some of it is based on facts, of which there are not that many because it remains a mystery, some are based on things he heard, and some of it is just his imagination,” she continued. “Either way, it tells the story of something that I find very relevant today: the obsession that men can have over women’s bodies. The obsession that men can have to take women who seem unattainable and control them. The story is told in an ingenious and original way.”

Eva Perón, Hayek Pinault emphasizes, “remains powerful even after her death,” which is why the series also explores Perón’s life and contributions.

“We also visit moments where she was so full of life and we see why this woman was so special. She was so ahead of her time, a feminist who accomplished so much in such a short period of time,” Hayek Pinault said. “She’s still alive today. She’s still relevant and people remember her so strongly. I am really proud of this project and I enjoyed watching it, too.”

Eva Perón’s Likeness May Soon Appear on Argentine Money

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Eva Perón is considered an international pop culture icon… And, now the people of her native Argentina may soon be able to cash in on the former First Lady’s popularity.

Several members of Argentina’s Congress have introduced bills to put the likeness of Evita—who was just 33 at the time of her death—on Argentine money to commemorate the 60th anniversary of her death, according to the press.

Eva Peron

The new bills are being inspired by the 5-peso bill designed in 1952 after Evita’s death but later scrapped by the dictatorship that took power in 1955, government spokesmen told the Clarin newspaper.

Evita was the second wife of three-time President Juan Domingo Perón (1895-1974), who was president of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and again from 1973 to 1974.

Eva Peron

The face of Evita—who died from cancer on July 26, 1952, and is hailed as a champion of the poor—appeared on limited coin issues in 1997 and 2002.

She’s buried at Recoleta Cemetery, the most elegant burial ground in Buenos Aires.

Evita’s body was removed from Argentina in 1957 on the orders of the military officers who overthrew Peron. After spending 14 years in a Milan tomb under another name, Evita’s remains were turned over to her husband. Gen. Peron kept the embalmed body in his home in Madrid’s Puerta de Hierro neighborhood for three years and the remains were finally returned to Buenos Aires in 1974.

Evita, who was wildly popular among Argentina’s lower classes, is known to people around the world thanks to the hit musical Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which was made into a film in 1994 by Alan Parker, with Madonna as the larger-than-life first lady. The Broadway musical made a triumphant return to the stage earlier this year with Elena Rogers, Michael Cerveris and Ricky Martin in the key roles.