The four Mirabal sisters were civil rights activists in the Dominican Republic. Three of them were assassinated on orders from dictator Rafael Trujillo, and they quickly became heroes in the fight against his strict and oppressive regime.
The Mirabal sisters, Minerva, Maria, Patria and Dedé, all lived in the Dominican Republic in the 1950s, during the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship.
The oldest Mirabal sister was Patria Mercedes Mirabal Reyes. Patria loved painting and art and at the age of fourteen she was sent to the Colegio Inmaculada Concepcion in La Vega, a Catholic Boarding School. When she was seventeen Patria married a farmer named Pedro Gonzalez and had three children, Nelson Enrique, Noris Mercedes, and Raul Ernesto. Patria supported
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her younger sister, Minerva, in her anti-government efforts and opposed the dictator Trujillo. Patria was concerned for the future of the country along with all of the country's children. Belgica Adela Mirabal Reyes, also known as Dede Mirabal. She was the only sister to not attend college and instead took the traditional role of homemaker. She married and had three children. María Argentina Minerva Mirabal Reyes, also known as Minerva Mirabal. She, like her sisters, was sent to the Colegio Inmaculada Concepcion. signs of her great intelligence from a very early age. By the time she was just 7 yrs old she could recite French poetry. Like her sister Patria, she enjoyed art especially that of Pablo Picasso, her main love was of writing and reading poetry. Minerva attended the University of Santo Domingo studying law and it was there she met her husband, Manuel Tavarez Justo.They married on November 20 1955 and had 2 children, Minu and Manolito. The youngest of the Mirabal sisters was Maria Teresa Mirabal. She also attended Inmaculada Concepcion with her sisters. In 1954, she graduated from the Liceo de San Francisco de Macoris and then went to the University of Santo Domingo to study Math. In 1958, she married Leandro Guzman an engineer and gave birth to their daughter, Jaqueline. She looked up to her sister Minerva and admired her actions and later became involved in her sister's political activities. Minerva studied to become a lawyer and got involved in the political movement against Trujillo.
She and Trujillo met once, in 1949 at the San Cristobal celebration. The rumor is that the dictator tried to flirt with Minerva, but she rejected him. Trujillo never forgot or forgave her.
Minerva’s sisters, Maria and Patria, soon joined her in the political action against Rafael Trujillo. Dedé joined later, even as her husband, Jaimito, tried to hold her back from doing so. Finally, the four sisters formed a group called the Movement of the Fourteenth of June. However, the sisters called themselves Las Mariposas (the Butterflies) after Minerva´s underground name, Mariposa.
The Butterflies were not part of a violent group; they shared information with people about Trujillo’s victims of his torture, assassination, and corruption . As a result, Minerva and Maria and all the sisters’ husbands, except Jaimito, were arrested multiple times. Even after being imprisoned, they never gave up the fight to put an end to Rafael Trujillo’s leadership. They refused to give up on their mission to restore democracy and civil liberties to their
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country. On November 25, 1960, Minerva (34), Maria (24) and Patria (36) went to go see their imprisoned husbands. On their way back to town, Trujillo’s henchmen stopped their car and they were all beaten to death. Trujillo’s men put the bodies back in their vehicle and ran it off the side of the road to make it look like an accident. But Dede knew Rafael Trujillo was the one who ordered the assassination of these women. Dedé Mirabal was the only sister who survived to share their story, as she didn’t go with her sister’s that day. Significance of the subject in history: They had became very well-known and admired all over the Dominican Republic, and represented a great threat to his regime.
They became symbols of resistance and democracy. It was the beginning of the end of Rafael Trujillo’s regime, as the Dominicans wouldn’t stand for this crime or his bloody and torturous regime. Rafael Trujillo was assassinated six months later by one of his own associates.
The Butterflies, Minerva, Maria, and Patria, have become symbols of both popular and feminist resistance throughout Latin America. Every November 25, the anniversary of the death of The Butterflies, women’s rights activists have honored a day against violence. In 1999, they inspired the creation of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by the UN General Assembly, in honor of the sisters.
Since their deaths, the Mirabal sisters have been commemorated in poems, songs and books.
The Mirabals are also given recognition in textbooks as national martyrs in the Dominican Republic. The first time mentioning the sisters in the curriculum, however, was a decade ago, but was canceled after the family objected to having the assassination presented more as a result of Minerva's having refused Trujillo's advances than as a consequence of the sisters'
activism.
In the Time of the Butterflies is a historical fiction novel by Julia Alvarez based on events that occurred during the rule of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. This book shows the hardships the Mirabal Sisters had to go through while being part of an underground effort to overthrow the dictatorship of Trujillo. It also shows that ultimately, it was their courage that brought upon their own death. Alvarez wants us to understand anyone and everyone has the potential to be courageous.
... did not take part in the revolution, her own strength was tested when her sisters were killed by Trujillo, leaving her as the only sister remaining alive. In the Time of the Butterflies allows readers to experience the courage of ordinary people fighting against extraordinary circumstances. The sisters advocated for a change in the Dominican Republic, and without being exceptionally special or extraordinary, they affected the entire county for the better. Today, readers can still learn from this story due to Julia Alvarez’s detailed portrayal of the Mirabal sisters and their story.
Minerva and Maria Teresa are two characters in Julia Alvarez’s In Time of the Butterflies. Minerva is one of the four main characters of the novel, as well as Maria Teresa. Minerva is the second youngest of the family and is very caring and kind. She was talking to her friend Sinita, who was one of the girls she met at school, and told her, “Tell me Sinita, maybe it’ll help” (Alvarez 16). Her friend Sinita told her the story about her brother’s death and Minerva felt sympathetic for her lost. Maria Teresa is the youngest of the Mirabal sisters and the ...
Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, or “El Chivo”, controlled the people of the Dominican Republic in a manner that set him apart from the other leaders of that time. By controlling every aspect of the country’s economy, he controlled the people, by controlling each individual’s income and their jobs, he controlled their lives. (Sagas, 173) It is true that from the outside it may appear that the economy was getting better in the Dominican Republic, but the problem was that all of the enterprises and businesses were directly or indirectly owned and controlled by Trujillo himself, not the government. Building bridges, making better roads, and establishing monuments were Trujillo’s ideas as to how to make the Dominican Republic a better place. (de Besault, N/A) True that these things made the Republic more appealing and made transportation better, but the inhumane methods Trujillo employed to maintain his complete and utter control of the people completely overshadowed any positive things that he may have done.
Selena, “Le Reina de Tejano”, was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson. She was the youngest of three children of Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and Marcela, his wife. At a young age, Abraham had a strong passion for music that he still has. During the 1950s and 1960s, him and his friends made a group called “Los Dinos” and played at nightclubs and restaurants. Even though his passion for music, he gave it up when he got married and earned a job at Dow Chemical as a shipping clerk.
Within the novel, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” Mate, Minerva, Dede, and Patria had to create decisions to overcome obstacles that would transform each of their lives. Throughout the book, all of the sisters changed somehow. They all grew up, matured, and saw things how they never viewed before. While looking at these things at a different perception, they learned to make decisions that were sometimes brave and sometimes cowardly. Each of the Mirabal sisters had to choose whether or not to be fearful and give up, or be courageous and stand her ground, or make sacrifices to show her strength throughout the novel.
Belonging to the Dominican Republic, Salcedo is one of the smallest provinces in all of its country. It is also the province that has been recently dedicated to the Mirabal sisters. Four Dominican women who fought for the freedom of the Dominican republic from the Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. Patia Mercedes, born on February 27, 1924, was the eldest sister. Bélgica Adela Mirabal, the second sister, was born on February 29, 1925. Minerva Argentina, the third sister, was born on March 12, 1926. And lastly, Maria Teresa, the youngest sister was born on October 15, 1936. The four sisters were daughters of Enrique Mirabal Fernández and Mercedes "Chea" Reyes Camilo. The Mirabal family lived in a part of Salcedo named “Ojo De Agua” (Eye Of Water). They were
The Mirabal Sisters, otherwise known as Las Mariposas, made their mark in history due to their efforts in the revolution against the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. Julia Alvarez, a native Dominican herself, wrote In the Time of the Butterflies due to an account told by Dede Mirabal about the lives and tragic fate of her sisters Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa. Dede’s three sisters were murdered due to their involvement in the revolution; Dede did not join the revolution, and thus survived to help recount their story. Since the novel’s publication in 1994, In the Time of the Butterflies has impacted various aspects of life, and contemporary culture frequently alludes to facets of the novel. One critic commented that "In the Time of the Butterflies suggests that the Mirabal sisters not only fought against the Trujillo regime, but also against the Dominican Republic’s patriarchal culture and gender roles. They were very
Maria Luna - Antonio’s mother. A kind woman who’s one dream is to see her youngest son become a priest. She is obsessed with his education and pushes him to learn about the culture of her family, the Lunas.
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina is without a doubt one of the most known figures within the Dominican history. The “Era de Trujillo” (The Trujillo Era) occupied the Dominican Republic for the long period of thirty-one years. His dictatorship started in 1930 and ended with his assassination on May 30, 1961. Trujillo’s Career began with the occupation of the United States in 1916. During this time he was trained in a military school, and became part of the National Police, a military group made by the Unites States to maintain order in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo stood out during his military career and rapidly ascended within the military ranges. Under the government of Horatio Vasquez Trujillo received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was put in charge of chiefs and assistant commanders of the National Police . This new position gave him the opportunity to be part of the overthrowing of Horatio Vasquez. Trujillo was sworn into presidency on August 16, 1930. Marking the beginning of what is known as the cruel, violent and controversial part of history in the Dominican Republic.
Minerva’s rebellion was caused by both Sinita and Trujillo. Sinita’s role was opening Minerva’s eyes to the real Trujillo. For example, Sinita told her about how “Three of her uncles were even friends of Trujillo. But they turned
Once assuming the presidency, Trujillo took some of his most loyal men and created a small military force called the Servicio de Inteligencia Militar, or SIM. Their job was to control the public and eliminate any opposition, no matter how big. One of the biggest jobs SIM was ordered to perform was the Parsley Massacre of 1937. A year after a political compromise between the two nations, thousands of Haitians were illegally immigrated into the Dominican Republic. Many Dominicans were complaining about the settlements growing exponentially on the border, as it hindered trade. Trujillo responded with, “We have already begun to remedy the situation. Three hundred Haitians are now dead in [the city of] Bánica. This remedy will continue.” Trujillo had ordered his men to get rid of the Haitians occupying the borderlands. Approximately 20,000 Haitians and some dark Dominicans were killed. If you couldn 't pronounce "perejil" or parsley with a roll of the "r", it entailed you spoke French and as a Haitian you were killed. Women and children were as mercilessly killed as the men by bayonets, machetes, and rifles. Dominicans that tried to help were killed as well. The bodies were dumped in a body of water running between the two countries, as if to send a message. SIM was so effective that horrible genocide occurred during only five days. It was an event that tarnished the Haitian-Dominican
“Jaimito think its suicide. He told me that he will leave me if I get mixed up in those things”. Here is where Dede confesses the truth about her participation with the Mariposas. Although later on she claims to be leaving Jaimito. Dede knew that she needed to join her sisters this was the only way she was going to show her loyalty to the “Mariposas”. Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa husbands were all involved with the “Mariposas” movement. Could this be the reason why they were so committed and involved with the “Mariposas” movement? The support that all their husbands gave them through the journey guided them to influent the change, and to them it was very important. We all ask ourselves could this be another reason why Dede felt so strong about getting people to hear he story, to find the interest in it. Dede made her family home into a museum, this way people can see how they lived when it all began. There is also a monument that tourist or native Dominican that would like to know the story of the Mirabal Sisters. Why is this so important? Its known that a lot of Dominican or people all around the world do not know the story of the Mirabal sisters and what they died for; the truth behind the lies and the unrealistic story telling. Dede’s accomplishment was to let everyone now what happened to her sisters to her father and how Trujillo dictated
This is evident in two key moments in the story, both of which involve Minerva’s sisters. In the first, the manifestation of her inspiring Maria Teresa comes when Maria Teresa stands up to her. Behind the virgin mary, maria teresa is infuriated that Minerva won't tell her what they’re talking about so she confronts her about their conversation. This is very similar to the attitude that Minerva would have had in this situation, further illustrating Minerva’s inspiration of Maria Teresa. A second demonstration of Minerva’s inspiring courage in others, once again, comes through Maria Teresa joining of the revolution. While some will say that Maria Teresa’s real reason for joining the revolution came in the form of the man delivering guns, it’s clearly evident that without her sister's involvement in the rebellion, she would not have joined. This shows Minerva true inspirational impact. Even without being the principal reason for her sister’s decision to join the rebellion, the fact that she was a major part of the rebellion, a leader of the rebellion even, was enough for Maria
Diaz describes Trujillo by writing, “You might roll your eyes at the comparison, but, friends: it would be hard to exaggerate the shadow of fear he cast over the Dominican people and the shadow of fear he cast throughout the region” (224). Trujillo put so much fear into the people of the Dominican Republic that Beli did not know it would ever affect her. In a world where no one gives her such feelings, the Gangster makes Beli feel beautiful. But, the Gangster is a pimp and exploits women, which shows the degradation of women such as Beli.