HISTORICAL NOTES: The Odyssey of Eva Per

In her brief 33 years, Eva Perón traveled fast and far. The illegitimate daughter of a dirt farmer and a woman who ran a rooming house, she became the second wife of Argentine Dictator Juan Perón. With her expansive charity giveaways, Evita, as she was known to Argentina's adoring masses, became a cult figure—the "Queen of the Descamisados" (the shirtless ones).

Dignity. But Evita's travels in life were nothing compared to her travels in death. On the night of Dec. 22, 1955, her body vanished from Buenos Aires' central labor headquarters; it had been...