(27 Jun 1997) Spanish/Nat
The life of one of Argentina's most famous female historical figures was celebrated on Thursday at the launch of an exhibition dedicated to Eva Duarte Peron - best remembered as Evita.
The exhibition, in the capital Buenos Aires, is an honest account of her rise to fame as the wife of the then leader General Juan Peron.
The myth of Evita has often obscured the whole truth about a woman whose work for women's suffrage contrasts with the allegations that her wealth stemmed from Nazi plundering throughout the Second World War.
Hundreds flocked to the opening, on Thursday, of an exhibition based on one of the most famous women in Argentinean history, Evita Peron.
The display, titled the One thousand and One Eva Duarte Peron, was unveiled in the Palais de Glace, in the capital Buenos Aires.
The name celebrates the many faces of a controversial woman whose hunger for power took her to the height of fame in the post Second World War period.
She has been hailed as a prime mover for the right of women to vote.
The exhibition also marks the fiftieth anniversary of her husband's, the country's then leader, General Juan Peron, decision to grant women suffrage.
Evita's two sisters, Ermina and Blanca Duarte, emerged from self-imposed anonymity to face the press pack and declare the exhibition open.
Attention also focused on Cristina Alvarez Rodriguez, her Evita's great-niece.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"This is interesting because here there is no interpretation, there are documents and histories and the reader will be able to enter with his or her own views and draw their own conclusions, exercise their own critical judgement as to what they think of Evita, here in the Palais."
SUPER CAPTION: Eva Cristina, Evita's great niece
Evita rose to the height of her fame between 1945 and 1953.
She remains a woman much admired and adored by many Argentineans today.
SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"I think that the myth lies in the grandeur of this woman, because many myths have been created around her, black and white, good or bad, but I think it is necessary to rescue this figure, this real woman of work, and set aside the myths and the adjectives because we have already consumed enough of all this."
SUPER CAPTION: Eva Cristina, Evita's great niece
Her legacy also has its darker sides.
In 1947, Evita made a much publicised state visit to Europe where she was granted an enormous welcome and audiences with various leaders.
Journalists have long suspected that Evita, used this European tour to deposit bribes from Nazi war criminals.
Argentina under the Perons was a refuge for many of the most senior Third Reich officials fleeing Europe, following the collapse of the Nazi offensive.
Hitler's confidant Martin Borman, Holocaust "architect" Adolf Eichmann and possibly Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele all took up residence in Argentina.
An article published on Thursday in Argentina's Pagina 12 newspaper quoted one holocaust survivor and Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, now 88, as calling for an investigation into Eva Peron's great wealth.
He alleges much of it was Nazi gold stashed away in secret Swiss bank accounts.
US wartime documents estimate the Nazis secretly sent more than one (b) billion US dollars to be invested in Argentina one month before the war ended.
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