Evita in wonderland: Pulqui and the workshop of underdevelopment

CineAction, Summer, 2009 by Tomas F. Crowder-Taraborrelli

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The absurd adventure of building a model of Pulqui stands for hundreds of other quixotic projects conceived in what I will call the "workshop of underdevelopment": an intermediary zone between First World industrial production and artisanal creation, typical of underdeveloped countries. The workshop of underdevelopment is both a symbolic space and the principal location in Pulqui, as most of the documentary's action takes place in Biancuzzo's taller. The protagonists go out of their way to explain the difficult choices they have to make in the construction and design of the model plane. They seem to want audiences to understand that there are risks to building such an object without the help of high-precision machinery.

Pulqui opens with its ghostly heroine. In a lyrical and moving fantasy sequence, Evita, dressed in a black business suit, and a school girl, wearing the traditional white apron used in public schools, are seated on a fallen tree in the forest. The ground is covered with leaves. Both have their backs turned to the camera. A ring of light shines around Evita's head. It is hard to hear what the two are saying over the natural sounds of the forest. The schoolgirl complains that they are giving her too much homework and then comments that she thinks Evita's blonde hair is beautiful. "I confess that I like yours more," Evita replies, caressing the girl's black hair. The scene ends abruptly and we are left alone in the middle of the forest. The sound of water and birds chirping becomes almost overbearing as the camera moves effortlessly among the trees. The image of the forest slowly dissolves into an archival image of the real Pulqui taking off as Peron, dressed in white uniform of the air force, watches. The jet engine roars as the sequence ends.

Evita's resurrected image in the forest offers relief. For Peronists, this sequence suggests comfort. The film's audiences know that the heroine of the story succumbed to cancer long ago just as they know about the desecration of her and her husband's corpses. Evita's body was preserved by the Spanish embalmer Dr. Pedro Ara, and both of the General's hands were cut off with a chainsaw when his mausoleum in the Chacarita Cemetery was broken into in 1987. A letter asking for a ransom of $8 million dollars was subsequently sent to a few Peronist members of congress. Journalists David Cox and Damian Nabot in their book La segunda muerte (Peron's Second Death), suggest that this profanation was a ritualistic act to condemn Peron's spirit to eternal unrest. The bizarre incident remains unresolved but one thing has become clear: the Peronist political family has been constantly challenged in their efforts to mourn their leaders. (9)

Daniel James reminds us of the special "intimacy" that the Justicialista or Peronist movement was able to institute with the working class. (10) Evita played a crucial role in fostering this intimacy. Within the ideological arch of Peronism, Evita assumed the responsibilities of the perfect mother, her duties being both to protect and teach her children. (11) Her role is reinforced in the film by the strategic placement of propaganda footage displaying the accomplishments of the Peronist government: the building of schools, recreation centers for orphan children, etc. This role as heroic guardian of the people assumes an even greater dimension in the documentary. For those who still believe (like Santoro, Biancuzzo and Fernandez Moujan) that to work is to put into action one's intellectual and physical potential, and who think that work should compliment the needs of the community, Evita represents a steadfast symbol of redemption for the tradition of the state as guardian of the worker's craft.