orangeskittles, are you really that dumb? Fact-based as in, Eva left home at 15 (there are 3 versions how she did it, the show chose one) to pursue an acting career in the big city. She became a model, radio actress, and eventually a film actress, with the aid of her brother and several influential men. She met Perón at a benefit for earthquake victims, gave his teenage mistress the boot, Perón paraded her around (unlike his previous mistresses) causing the aristocracy and especially the military to disdain her. One major event the musical doesn't portray is Perón's arrest and eventual rescue by the workers, which became a big holiday in Argentina ("Loyalty Day") and earned them the nickname "descamisados" ("shirtless ones"). Then after Perón was elected, Eva took an increasingly active role in running the state, again much to the disdain of the military. She traveled to Europe, came back and opened her own charity fund after the aristocratic women refused to accept her as honorary president, as was tradition with all first ladies. She also tried to run for vice president, but due to her increasing illness and much opposition from the military she had to withdraw. She dies, has a big state funeral, the end. One gripe I have the show is that it doesn't really present or mention much of Eva's political career. For instance, she helped get women the right to vote, then later established the women's branch of the Peronist Party and appointed female judges and mayors and such. She also unofficially took over the duties of the vice president and ran the ministries of Health and Labor, controlled the radios/newspapers, as well as the trade unions (CGT). She had much more political influence than the musical would have you believe. Her bid for the vice presidency was just a way to legitimize her achievements.
As for the Ché character, of course that was artistic license. He and Eva never personally met, but being an Argentine citizen he knew of her, naturally. In fact, one time he wrote to her charity pleading for a motorbike as a joke, which was denied. His family was quite affluent (he was a medical student at the time of her death), so of course they were anti-Peronism. This is one of the reasons ALW and Rice chose him as the everyman, but mainly because by that time he had also become a cult hero of sorts.
Capiche?
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Updated On: 3/14/10 at 10:55 AM