Argentina to exhibit Eva Peron items at Frankfurt Book Fair (Feature)

By Jean-Baptiste Piggin Oct 5, 2010, 13:59 GMT

Frankfurt - Argentina is showcasing Evita memorabilia, including a tailored suit worn by first lady Eva Peron, at the Frankfurt Book Fair - set to open Wednesday.

As this year's guest of honour at the world's biggest congress of book publishers, Argentina was invited to put on an exhibition about their culture. The media were allowed an early peek at it Tuesday.

The suit, a fawn jacket with wide lapels and an incredibly wasplike waist and a matching skirt, is presented on a tailor's dummy along with other Evita (Eva's nickname in her homeland) relics inside a glass case at the exhibition.

Peron and her husband Juan Peron were idolised by many Argentinians in one of the 20th century's most noted personality cults. She was hailed as a glamorous benefactor to the poor, and died in 1952.

Opponents claimed her husband, who died in 1974 was closer to a dictator.

Alongside the Evita showcase was one for showing the writings of another Argentine idol, football player and former coach Diego Maradona.

The current president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, belongs to the Justicialist Party, the main part of the Peronist movement.

'Eva Peron was not just important for Argentines but for the whole world,' said an Argentine guide at the show.

Asked if Evita worship was not a sign of political bias, she replied, 'This is the politics of our nation. We want to show that she created jobs, that she reintegrated people who had been excluded.'

During the five-day book fair, which runs until Sunday, Argentine authors will be giving readings and interviews at the fair to promote sales of their books.

The exhibition of the achievements of Argentine culture under the motto 'Culture in Motion' also includes the 150-centimetre- long fossil skull of a dinosaur dug from Argentine soil.

Most of the exhibition comprises graphics - cartoons, landscape photographs, paintings and giant texts - printed on white screen fabric or shone onto walls by projectors. They give a glimpse of Argentina's history.

Books by Argentine authors including the late Jorge Luis Borges and up and coming contemporary novelists and poets are arranged at the centre of the exhibition space, occupying one storey of a pavilion at the Frankfurt fairgrounds.

An assortment of Argentine books in German translation is available in the exhibition for the public to browse through. Guest of honour status is an annual opportunity to reach out to the reading public.

The fair is the world book industry's main annual opportunity to do face-to-face international trading in translation and reprint rights.

The sellers are mainly English-language publishers, while the buyers are companies that publish books in the other languages of the world.

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