Eva "Evita" Peron: "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"

-
When Eva (nee Duarte) Peron, affectionately known as “Evita” to her adoring public, died at the age of 33 on July 26, 1952, her funeral was as grand as the life (albeit short) she had lived. Her body was medically embalmed --a rare and costly practice--and placed in a specially constructed Bronze casket with a glass cover for public viewing. And what a viewing it was! Eva’s body remained on display for 13 days during which time 3 million Argentines, after waiting in line for hours, filed past her casket to pay their final respects. In the meantime, construction was to begin on the mausoleum which would house her remains. However, it would take more than 20 years before that would happen. Ousted by a coup, President Juan Peron went into hiding as did Eva’s body, because of the strong anti-Peron sentiment in the country. On October 22, 1976, Eva Peron’s body was at last entombed in the family mausoleum in La Recoleta Cemetery. A plaque at the site is inscribed in Spanish with the words: Don’t Cry For Me. Located in Buenos Aires, La Recoleta is the final resting place of many of Argentina’s elite.
  A friend who visited the cemetery graciously provided this photo. I’ve yet to get there, though I did write both a college paper and an article entitled The Death and Enduring Legacy of Eva Peron which appeared in the January 2001 edition of American Funeral Director Magazine.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother's Grief

-
Image
  Near the edge of Green -Wood Cemetery, a sculpture of a beautiful woman –Rose Guarino--reclining across stone steps stops visitors in their tracks. Open-eyed, with lips parted and long hair flowing, she is dressed in a flowing gown, and wearing sandals. She clutches a bouquet in her hands. For generations, Brooklyn locals have believed that the monument commemorates a mafia bride gunned down on her wedding day in a revenge killing. The true story behind the statue does involve a murder and is just as tragic.  In the summer of 1909, Dominica Merello and her daughter, Rose Guarino, were dining with family members on the lawn of their NJ summer home when Pietro Silverio, an irate domestic employee, rushed the women, gun in hand, to exact revenge for losing his job. As the women attempted to flee, Silverio gave chase and shot Guarino in the back.   She died three days later. Guarino's body was held for two years in the cemetery's receiving vault while the monument w...
Read more

Mario Puzo: They Made Him an Offer

-
Image
It took me three determined attempts to locate the grave of author Mario Puzo, buried in North Babylon Cemetery (not to be confused with Babylon Rural Cemetery) on Long Island. The third time was the charm, and I finally found it. On Sunday evening, after dinner, my cousin joined me in the search. We split up and walked through the rows of the cemetery.  Despite coming across many noteworthy monuments, I still couldn't find Puzo's grave. Suddenly, it occurred to me that he might be buried in the small --and less occupied-- graveyard across the street.  It turned out that it was another section of the cemetery, and I spotted Puzo's grave nestled within some bushes as soon as I entered. He is buried with his wife Erika who died in 1978. Surprisingly, the rose granite monument makes no mention of his fame as a writer.  Standing before the grave, I couldn't help but recall the day long ago when, as a teenager, I and some friends eagerly made our way into the city to see the...
Read more

Dr. Auguste Renouard --The "Father of Arterial Embalming"

-
Image
I came upon the grave of Dr. Auguste Renouard quite by accident when I was working on my Green-Wood Cemetery book. And, of course, I included a photo of it in the book.   Considered "the father of arterial embalming."  Renouard's monument is a tribute to him and notes: E rected by the Funeral Directors and Embalmers of the United States in Recognition of the Valuable Services of August Renouard in Advancing the Science of the Preservation of the Dead. Trained as a medical doctor, he developed a keen interest in embalming, writing often on the subject for funeral industry trade journals. In 1878, Renouard published what is said to be the first embalming textbook, 'The Undertaker's Manual.' Several years later, he opened The Renouard Training School for Embalmers in New York City. The mortuary school had a stellar reputation for turning out some of the most skilled embalmers of the time. Dr, Renouard died on March 13, 1912. Three years after Renouard's death...
Read more