Ciudad Evita is a city in the '' partido'' of

La Matanza ''La Matanza'' (Spanish for "The Massacre") refers to a communist- indigenous rebellion in El Salvador that took place between 22 and 25 January 1932. It was succeeded by large-scale government killings in western El Salvador, which resulted ...

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, located 20 kilometers (13 mi) from Downtown Buenos Aires within the

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...

metro area. Ciudad Evita has a population of 68,650 (2001).

History

Ciudad Evita was established in 1947 by Argentine President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

in Decree No. 33221 as a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

, and the initial settlement was developed by the

Eva Perón Foundation The Eva Perón Foundation was a charitable foundation begun by Eva Perón, a prominent Argentine political leader, when she was the First Lady and Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina. It operated from 1948 to 1955. Inspiration and Be ...

. Perón's decree stipulated that this new suburb of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

be named after the namesake of the foundation, his wife Eva "Evita" Duarte de Perón, and was named "Ciudad Evita" meaning Evita City in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. the city's original 15,000 homes were designed in a simplified

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

style favored during the Perón era, and allegedly featured a street layout built in the shape of Eva Perón's profile, which seemingly "waved" to airline passengers from

Ministro Pistarini International Airport Ministro Pistarini International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini) , also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in the Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport s ...

, located 6 kilometers (4 mi) south of the city.Face: Ciudad Evita
/ref> In 1955, following the

Revolución Libertadora ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') was the coup d'état that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on 16 September 1955. Background President Perón was first elected in 1946. In 1949, a ...

military coup that deposed Perón, the city's overt homage to the influential first lady prompted Ciudad Evita's renaming to Ciudad General Belgrano, in honor of General

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...

. The city was administered by

Banco Hipotecario Banco Hipotecario ( BCBAbr>BHIP is a commercial bank and mortgage lender in Argentina. Overview The institution was chartered on September 24, 1886, as the ''Banco Hipotecario Nacional'' (''National Mortgage Bank'') by a bill (Law 1804) signed b ...

following the coup, which covered all administrative activities except for some

public services A public service is any Service (economics), service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through pub ...

that were provided by the Municipality of La Matanza. The city continued to grow, incorporating the Barrio Vemme ward between 1960 and 1967. Ciudad Evita was transferred to La Matanza Council in 1963, and upon the return of

Peronist Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...

s to power in the 1973 general election, the city's name was reverted to Ciudad Evita. A second addition, Barrio Alas, was opened in 1974 for

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...

officers stationed at the

Morón Air Base Morón Air Base is located at in southern Spain, approximately southeast of the city of Seville. The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera while is located inside Arahal municipality territory. Currently the bas ...

. The

March 1976 coup March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

ousted the Peronist government and again led to a change of name for the town, this time to Ciudad General Martín Miguel de Güemes, in honor of General

Martín Miguel de Güemes Martín Miguel de Güemes (8 February 1785 – 17 June 1821) was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spain, Spanish royalist army during the Argentine War of Independence. Biography Güemes was bor ...

. The return of democracy in the 1983 general election led to the city's name being reverted to Ciudad Evita again, and the city was chosen as the site of the

Buenos Aires Temple The Buenos Aires Argentina Temple is the 39th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), located in Ciudad Evita, near Buenos Aires, Argentina. History LDS Church leaders announced plans to build a temple ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

which was dedicated in 1986. Ciudad Evita was declared a

National Historic Monument of Argentina The National Historic Monuments of Argentina are buildings, sites and features in Argentina listed by national decree as historic sites. This designation encourages greater protection under the oversight of the ''Comisión Nacional de Museos, Mo ...

in 1997.

Notable people

Juan Ignacio Chela Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as “El Flaco” or “Liliano,” is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post-d ...

, tennis player *

Gabriel Furlán Néstor Gabriel Furlán (born October 13, 1964) is an Argentine racing driver. He has run in different series, with major success in Formula Three Sudamericana and TC2000. He won the Formula Three Sudamericana championship four times, in 1989, ...

, racing driver *

Cristian Fabbiani Cristian Gastón Fabbiani (born 3 September 1983 in Ciudad Evita) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current manager at Fenix de Pilar. Playing career Fabbiani comes from a family of footballers, he has 13 relatives from his f ...

, footballer *

Mauricio Hanuch Mauricio Fabio Hanuch (16 November 1976 – 26 May 2020) was an Argentine footballer who played as a right midfielder. He amassed Argentine Primera División totals of 137 games and 14 goals over the course of eight seasons, representing five c ...

, footballer * Pocha Lamadrid, activist

Notes and references

External links

History of Ciudad Evita
{{Authority control La Matanza Partido Populated places in Buenos Aires Province Populated places established in 1947 National Historic Monuments of Argentina Eva Perón 1947 establishments in Argentina