Maria Eva Duarte was born in Los Toldos, province of Buenos Aires, in 1919. She, her mother, Juana Ibarguren, and her four brothers constituted the irregular family of Juan Duarte, who died when Evita was six or seven years old. By this time, they moved to Junín, where Eva remained until 1935.

She felt asphyxiated by the atmosphere of small town, and when she was only 15, she decided to move to Buenos Aires carring the dream of becoming an actress. Alone, without money nor education, she found an inhospitable and hard world, whose rules she did not know. Nevertheless, she triumphed: she became an actress of certain fame - in spite of lacking remarkable talents - and headed a then famous radio program.

But her destiny was not this one. In January 1944, Eva Duarte met Colonel Juan Domingo Perón in a festival of the artistic community in favour of the victims of an earthquake that had destroyed San Juan City some days before.

In the following month, they were already living together and two years later they got married in an intimate ceremony.

In February 1946, after an electoral campaign in which Evita's presence had been crucial, Perón was elected president. The opposition shifted to her the antipathy and rejection they felt towards Perón. The vertiginous rising of "this woman" was to these Argentines another reason of disgust.

In her role of first lady, Eva Perón developed an intense work, both in the political and in the social aspects. In what concerns politics, she worked intensively to obtain women's vote and also founded the female branch of the peronism.  This organisation was formed gathering women from the various social extractions all over the country. The directresses of this new congregation were called "censor delegates".  

In the social aspect, her work was developed in the Eva Perón Foundation, kept by contributions of businessmen and donatives that the workers would give whenever they had an improvement in their salaries. She built hospitals, homes for the elderly and for single mothers, two policlinics, schools, a Child's City. During Christmas she distributed food, helped those in need and promoted sportive tournaments to the children and the youth.

The other aspect and maybe the main reason of her popularity was constituted around the unions and her facility and charisma to connect herself with the workers, who she used to call her "descamisados" (shirtless).

Eva Perón died on 26 July 1952, still quite young, due to a leukemia. People's pain did not abandon her in a vigil that lasted 14 days, and would never abandon: many believe Evita is a saint.

When I chose to be "Evita" I know I chose the way of my people. Now, four years after that election, it is easy to me to demonstrate that it was factually as I say.

No one but the people call me "Evita". Only the "descamisados" learned to call me like this. The government men, the politicians, the ambassadors, the businessmen, professionals, intellectuals, etc., that visit me use to call me "Madam" and some of them call me in public "Excellency" or else, sometimes "Mrs. President". They do not see in me anyone else than Eva Perón.

However, descamisados do not know me but as "Evita". I introduced myself like this, the day I met the humble people of my land, telling them I "preferred to be "Evita" than to be the President's wife if this "Evita" could be used to quell a pain or to weep a tear".

And, a strange thing, if the government men, the politicians, the ambassadors, those who call me "Madam" called me "Evita" I would find it as strange and out of place as if a boy, a workman or a humble person called me "Madam". But it seems to me that they themselves would find it even stranger and ineffective.

Now if I were asked what I prefer, my answer would immediately come out of me: I prefer my popular name. When a boy says "Evita" I feel like the mother of all the boys and all the weak and humble people of my land. When a worker calls me "Evita" I proudly feel like a "companion" of all the men.

Fragment of the book "The reason of my life" written by Eva Perón in 1951.