We started off strong today with a walking tour of Recoleta, one of the historical neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. Our tour guide took us around to the variety of palaces in the area and explained some of the histories of the families. The buildings were absolutely stunning and adorned with ornaments of all kinds. During the time period they were built, many of the wealthy families in Buenos Aires would hire European designers to create their houses, making the architecture stand out against the rest of the city. All of the wealth present in this area came from the golden age of Argentina, when it was one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The abundance of resources made the country a prime candidate for families to take control of large portions of land. This created a class of exceedingly wealthy people. My favorite part of the tour was a church built by María Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena. It was absolutely beautiful, and it also contains the second largest organ in the country with five thousand pipes. At the end of the tour, we went to the Cementerio de la Recoleta. This massive cemetery is where many of the most influential figures of Argentine history are buried, including Eva Perón. The rows of mausoleums made the cemetery feel like its own little city. Everywhere we looked there were beautiful marble sculptures, stained glass, and architecture. It was interesting hearing about the stories of some of the people buried there.

After the cemetery, we took a bus to Museo Evita. This museum was dedicated to the life and work of Eva Perón, a very famous historical figure in Argentina. Eva Perón was the wife of Juan Perón, arguably one of the most influential politicians in Argentine history. Although her husband did a lot for the country, Eva (or commonly Evita) was a true woman of the people. As we started walking through the museum, we learned about her family and childhood. She was born into a “family on the side,” meaning that her father was married to someone else, but had several children with her mother. After he father died in a car crash when she was young, her mother and her siblings moved to a place where her mother could make more money as a dress maker. There, Eva was, contrary to popular belief, enrolled in public school and found that she enjoyed public speaking. Because of this experience, she auditioned for a role at a radio theater in Buenos Aires. Upon getting the part, she began her career as an actress and model. This time in her life was key to what was to come later, as she experienced first hand the exploitation of workers and financial instability. Eventually, she met Juan Perón, and they soon became the president and first wife of Argentina. Eva’s speeches connected very strongly with the people, and she became a symbol of workers’ and women’s rights. One of her greatest contributions was the eponymous foundation that provided many different social services such as child care, temporary housing for mothers and children, sports tournaments, and even a nursing school. She also pushed for women’s suffrage to be at the top of Juan Perón’s agenda, quickly allowing women to vote for the first time in Argentina in 1947. All of these programs only further solidified her as a significant piece of Argentina’s history. Although she died young of uterine cancer, her contributions and legacy were long lasting.

Juan Perón, Eva’s husband, also had significant impact on the healthcare system in Argentina. Perón created the obras sociales, or unions, which play a large role in the healthcare and social security system. The unions provide insurance to any working citizen, either directly through their own company or through a subcontracted private company. This provides many people with insurance that otherwise would rely solely on the public sector for care. They also provide many social benefits such as pensions. Without these structures established by Perón, the healthcare landscape in Argentina would look very different from how it does today.