Quinta San Vicente and Juan Perón Mausoleum

Description:

• Quinta is an Argentine word meaning country home, and this was the one shared by Juan and Evita. They lived here on weekends, escaping the routine of their work in Buenos Aires. It is the only home they lived in that still exists and is also open to the public, though it is about 45 miles from the center of Buenos Aires, beyond the Ezeiza Airport. The home dates from the 1940s, but the majority of furnishings are from the early 1970s, when Perón returned to power and shared this house with his third wife, Isabelita. The complex is also called the Museo de 17 de Octubre, named in honor of the date that Peronism began. The house is tiny, and the complex also contains a museum explaining the history of Peronism, which was curated by Gabriel Miremont, who also designed the Museo Evita. The interesting things displayed include a cross given by the city of Santiago, Spain, to Evita during the famous Rainbow Tour of 1947. In addition, the colossal marble statues of Juan, Evita, and a Descamisado (worker), originally intended for the never-built Evita memorial planned for Avenida Libertador in front of the former Presidential Palace, are also in the gardens. The statues of Juan and Evita are headless now, damaged in the 1955 revolution that deposed Juan Perón. According to speculation, the heads are somewhere offshore in the Río Riachuelo running through La Boca. (So as not to offend the workers, the head of the Descamisado was spared the same fate.)

  An imposing mausoleum on the grounds now holds the remains of Juan Perón, moved here from Chacarita Cemetery in a chaotic and violent parade on October 17, 2006. A space exists for Evita, but her family will not allow her to be moved here from Recoleta Cemetery. The stark setting is ornamented with a mosaic produced by Lilian Lucía Luciano and the Azzurro group of artisans and is inspired by The Embrace, or El Abrazo, a famous photo of Evita and Juan taken by Pinelides Fusco on October 17, 1951, her last speech on this important date as she was dying of cancer. (You'll recognize it from the scene in Madonna's Evita movie.) The museum complex is 75¢ (55p) to enter, but it is only open on weekends and you should call to verify the closing time. Because it is hard to get to, it is best reachable by taxi from Buenos Aires, costing about $50 (£36).

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010