Argentina P358 EVITA! EVITA! Don’t Cry For Me 100 Pesos 2012 UNC T0600

60th anniversary of the death of Eva “Evita” Perón (1952–2012)

Eva “Evita” Duarte de Perón (1919–1952) was Argentina’s most iconic—and polarizing—first lady, the wife of President Juan Domingo Perón.

Rising from poverty and an illegitimate birth, she became a radio actress before marrying Perón and transforming into a political powerhouse. As First Lady (1946–1952), she championed the poor, women, and workers—founding the Fundación Eva Perón (which built hospitals, schools, and homes) and playing a crucial role in securing women’s suffrage in 1947.

To millions of Argentines, she was “Santa Evita,” a saintly figure who embodied compassion and social justice.

Yet she was also fiercely divisive: critics accused her of authoritarianism, corruption, and demagoguery, claiming she used state funds to buy loyalty and enrich herself and her circle. Her lavish public persona and her close control of charity funds led opponents to label her corrupt or promiscuous, while supporters saw her as the soul of Peronism—a movement blending nationalism, welfare populism, and centralized power.

Even decades after her death from cancer at 33, Evita remains a potent symbol—either of social dignity for the poor or of the populist excesses that crippled Argentina’s economy.

The musical Evita, created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1976, dramatizes Eva Perón’s meteoric rise from poverty to power and her near-saintlike adoration by Argentina’s working class. Blending rock opera with Latin rhythms, it introduced iconic songs such as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” The 1996 film adaptation, directed by Alan Parker and starring Madonna as Evita and Antonio Banderas as Che, brought the story to a global audience. Lavish and emotional, the movie won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

About the banknote

Front
Evita Perón and quote "As a woman I feel in my soul the warm tenderness of the people where I came from and to whom I owe".

Back
Relief on "Ara Pacis Augustae" (Altar of Peace of Augustus), Rome, Italy
Text: "Popular leader who fought for the rights of workers, humble and unprotected, carrying out an intense task of social justice. She promoted the participation of women in political life, fervently promoting the female vote, a right finally consecrated by Law in 1947 and exercised for the first time in 1951."

Watermark
Eva Perón headshot

Signatures: 
Mercedes Marco del Pont, President of the Central Bank of Argentina
Amadou Boudou, President of the Honourable Chamber of Senators