Evita, Maradona & El Che

Evita, Maradona & El Che

Argentines are proud of their famous sons and daughters, none more so than the local holy trinity of Evita Perón, Diego Maradona, and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Like 'em or loathe 'em, these three figures are permanent engravings -- metaphorically speaking on the Argentine imagination and literally speaking on billboards, T-shirts, and tattoos.

Known by her supporters as the mother of the nation, Eva Duarte de Perón was revered as a saint in Argentina long before West End musicals and Hollywood films made her internationally famous. Despite her humble origins, she became half of the most famous presidential couple in Argentina's history, until her untimely death from cancer at age 33. Evita is a contradictory figure: despite her famed designer frocks and perfect blonde chignon, her politics were extremely radical, to the horror of the conservative oligarchy of the time. Her tireless activism championed the poor, the working class, and marginalized groups like single mothers, and brought her millions of fanatical followers, who still campaign for her to be made Santa Evita.

Ask any local soccer fan what nationality God is, and his or her answer will be "Argentine," in clear reference to football prodigy Diego Armando Maradona. He grew up in one of Buenos Aires's shantytowns, but started playing professionally at the age of 10. He shot to fame in the early '80s with Boca Juniors and then the Italian team Napoli, before his 1986 goal against England won Argentina the World Cup and immortality for him. Too much time at the top took its toll, though: after retiring, Maradona's cocaine addiction bloomed and his weight skyrocketed. For a while it looked like the hero was on his way out. In 2005, however, the nation wept tears of joy as the man known as El 10 (Number 10), El Diego de la Gente (Diego of the People), La Mano de Dios (The Hand of God), and countless other hyperbolic epithets returned to Argentina slimmed-down and drug-free to host a TV show.

If Maradona is Argentina's god, then the bearded icon tattooed on his left forearm is Argentina's messiah: Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, known as El Che. Born in Rosario, the middle-class medical student's life was changed forever by the trip up South America immortalized in his book Mi primer Gran Viaje, taken to the big screen by Walter Salles as The Motorcycle Diaries. His horror at the plight of peasants and workers led to his participation in the Cuban revolution, for which he is best known, as well as the attempt to start a guerrilla uprising in Bolivia, where he was assassinated in 1967. He remains the figurehead of many left-wing student movements as well as a pop icon adorning T-shirts across Latin America.