By Belinda Luscombe

ALL THE RAGE IN ARGENTINA

If the movie Evita bombs, it won't be for lack of publicity. Not a frame has been shot, yet the film has generated the sort of controversy that surrounds a sighting of the (other) Madonna. Buenos Aires' walls are decorated with slogans supporting either MS. PERON, inset, or MS. CICCONE, who appears, at left, in an exclusive, official portrait as Argentina's once and future, if unofficial, queen. Madonna, who has already recorded the score, plus one song written for the film, is sufficiently inured to the buzz to appear in public, albeit under guard. But even President Carlos Menem has weighed in: "I don't see Madonna in the role. I don't think Argentina's people, who see Evita as a true martyr, will tolerate it." But director Alan Parker is unperturbed. "There's an extreme minority faction who have an opinion about what we're doing," he says. "I promised Menem I would show him the film when I've finished. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised."

SEEN & HEARD

So many lawsuits have been filed against Anna Nicole Smith that the nonwaif model and millionaire's widow has declared bankruptcy. She filed for Chapter 11 in order to focus her finances on winning a share of the estate of her late husband.

Tom Waits, who hasn't given a concert since 1992, has been inspired to return to the stage by the plight of Don Hyde, who owns a hip movie theater and concert venue north of San Francisco. Hyde has been indicted on drug charges in Kentucky--unfairly, Waits believes--and revenue from the sold-out event will help pay for his defense.

EVERYTHING BUT THE 'TUDE

For BEN WATT of Everything but the Girl, the winningly unprepossessing British duo whose single Missing is nudging Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston in the singles charts, success is fun but not essential. "It's thrilling to have a pop hit," says Watt. "But I'd got used to our life as an underground band." Not surprising, since he and TRACEY THORN have been recording since 1982. In 1992, when Watt nearly died of Churg-Strauss syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can affect the lungs and intestines, they reassessed everything. One result: Missing. Now the album's moving too, but Watt can cope: "The up-and-down nature of success keeps you sane."

I, MAYTE, TAKE YOU...

Perhaps figuring that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley's split has left a gap in the market for odd matches, PRINCE has settled on a lifetime mate. The artist, formerly known as avidly polygynous, will marry MAYTE (pronounced my-tay) GARCIA, a Puerto Rican--born belly dancer and singer who has been a member of his backup group since 1992. The happy nuptials will take place in Paris on Valentine's Day, to the strains of Kamasutra, a symphony Prince has commissioned from his band, the New Power Generation. Further details--what Mayte's married name will be and if she will wear higher heels than the mercurial musician at the ceremony--are scant, but all will be revealed on Prince's Website, to be launched on the wedding day.