Ten Notable Women of Modern Latin America
In 1930s rural Argentina, a determined fifteen-year-old left an isolated, poverty-stricken life to find her fortune in the “Paris of South America”—Buenos Aires. There, with few connections, little education, but plenty of persistence, Maria Eva Duarte gained a toehold in the city’s artistic scene. Eva—Evita—then navigated the radio revolution to fortune, providing for her mother and siblings along the way. She caught the eye of rising political star Colonel Juan Perón, and with him, she rode the pro-labor wave all the way to the presidential palace. The story of Eva Duarte Perón highlights not just her own extraordinary life, but the opportunities seized by women of all classes and backgrounds in post-independence modernizing Latin America.
This work offers an alternate method for understanding modern Latin America and its history. The ten figures treated are ethnically mixed, of African, Indigenous, European, and mestiza heritage. They include figures from all social classes, geographic settings, and occupations seen in Latin America, and they acted over the entirety of the more than two centuries of the modern period. Through their stories, the reader comes away with a deeper understanding of this rich, diverse region.
James D. Henderson is distinguished professor emeritus of international studies at Coastal Carolina University. Prior to his scholarly career, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Columbia. His books include Modernization in Colombia: The Laureano Gómez Years, 1886-1965.
Linda R. Henderson is professor emerita at Coastal Carolina University. She has also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia.
Suzanne M. Litrel is a historian of Brazil and the Portuguese Atlantic world. She has taught at Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, and Bay Shore High School in New York. For more information, see suzannelitrel.com.