Argentinians yearn for Evita 70 years after her death | Life/Entertainment

Although not related to Eva Peron, Noble says, “I carry Evita in my DNA.” And she’s hardly the only one who feels that way.

Seven decades after her death, Evita continues to stir passions in Argentina, as her followers see her image as a defender of the poor more relevant than ever at a time when inequality and poverty are rising and the economy remains stagnant 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 and most ardent followers, the connection to 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 honor her grave Evita, located in the Recoleta neighborhood of the Argentine capital.

With tears in her eyes, the 84-year-old Baro, the daughter of a housekeeper, recalled how her life in the northern province of Tucuman had improved after Evita entered the political scene and she suddenly had better shoes and school uniforms.

“Thanks to her, I had my first backpack,” said Barro, who still remembers the excitement of seeing Evita pass her town on the train. “She is the torch that shines in my heart.”

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

Evita was by his side when Perón won the 1946 presidential election and assumed an unprecedented role as an influential first lady, placing herself at the forefront of women’s rights, including suffrage, which was approved a year later, and the creation of a fund to help workers and the poor.

As much as Evita was loved, she was equally hated by many of the country’s rich 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 aged 33, sparking an outpouring of grief on the streets as the South American country went into mourning.

Peron was eventually elected president twice more and was the founder of a political movement – Peronism – that dominates Argentine political life to this day, with many leaders of various ideological persuasions claiming loyalty to the former general.

“Peron was respected, he was obeyed – whether they agreed with what he said or not. But Evita was loved or hated, and she ended up bringing a strong dose of emotion to Peronism,” said Felipe Piña, a historian who has written extensively about the former first lady.

For some, these emotions remained alive.

A day before the anniversary of Evita’s death, Maria Eva Sapiro joined nearly 100 others to dress up as her during a performance that paid tribute to the former first lady.

Sapir was named after Evita, and now she talks about her with her own daughter.

“When you listen to her talk, it’s amazing how many things still fit after so many years,” Sapir said.

Others who came to admire Evita later in life often say that it was the sense that she was ahead of her time on many issues, especially women’s rights, that led them to join her legions of admirers.

“In particular, young people see Evita as a rebel, someone who didn’t put her head down and didn’t give up” and ended up dying “young and beautiful,” helping to build a “pop icon,” Pigna said.

“Eve is a character that fascinates,” said Alejandro Mazzi, director of the new Santa Evita series, which premieres Tuesday on Disney’s streaming services and is based on the 1995 novel by Argentine author Tomás Eloy Martinez.

Perón and Evita continue to be the targets of criticism both in Argentina and abroad. Some say, for example, that Evita used public money for what she called charity work to build her own saintly image and help her husband grow in popularity. Others also point to claims that the couple received money from the Nazis to help war criminals hide in Argentina after World War II.

Cristina Álvarez Rodríguez, Evita’s great-niece who is now a minister in the Buenos Aires provincial government, said she was particularly moved by the number of “very young girls who have tattooed Evita on their skin” and now “see her as a guiding light.”

Many now also long for a figure like Evita.

For some, the current government of President Alberto Fernández, who calls himself a Peronist, has departed from those principles.

“The Argentine people feel betrayed. Peronism never came to starve people, and that’s what’s happening now,” said Mateo Nieto, who has pictures of Peron and Evita in his pizzeria in the northern town of Posadas, near the border with Paraguay.

Nieto said that “the government that is in power calls itself Perinist, but in fact it is not Perinist.”

“We really miss someone like Evita, it would be great to have a leader like her at this time,” he said.

Mati, a filmmaker, considers Evita an “interesting metaphor” for thinking about the kind of country Argentines want to have at a time of growing poverty and inequality.

“This woman proposed a society with greater mobility, which Argentina does not currently have. There is no social mobility here, and if there is, it is downward,” he said.