The Mirabal sisters were Dominican political dissidents who opposed to the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. These three sisters were assassinated on November, 25, 1960. Originally there are four sisters, but only three were really involved. The three involved were known as Minerva, Maria, and Patria. Belgica Adela Mirabal Reyes is the fourth sister.
The Mirabals were farmers in the Dominican Republic. The mother's name is Mercedes Reyes Camilo and the father's name is Enrique Mirabal Fernandez. The whole family grew up in a middle- class environment. They didn't have many options of what way to live since they had to life in a time filled with harsh dictatorship. Minerva wanted to go to school instead of staying on the farm all the time.
The school she attended school in 1938 at Inmaculada Concepcion. Her parents did not like this decision but it followed through and she went. While Minerva was there, she experienced life with other girls from other cultures. She participated in the school's plays and activities. She didn't really have a choice to if she wanted to or not. She met a girl by the name of Sinita whom became her friend and roommate.
Sinita wore a black ribbon on her arm because she was showing that she was mourning for a person that passed away in her family. Minerva and Sinita were doing a part in the school's play and her friend played the part of the indian with an arrow. President Rafael Trujillo came to the school to watch all of the girls participate in the school plays, activities, and sports. Sinita hated the President because he had most of her family killed. During Sinita's part in the play she had to act like she was aiming an arrow.
In reality, she was trying to kill the President to get revenge on h...
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...ce against Women.
The United States General Assembly did this to honor the Mirabal Sisters. Their assassination created an interest across the state of the Dominican Republic. Today, their home has been turned into a museum and is looked after by Dede Mirabal. Dede Mirabal is the only surviving sister and passed away February 1, 2014 at the age of 89.
She took in all of her sisters' children and watched after them due to what happened to their mothers. Minerva's eldest daughter became a congresswoman and has served since 1998. In 2010, she was reelected for an additional four years. The Mirabal Sisters' legacy has definitely gained recognition and honor and will continue to forever live on. As of for President Trujillo, he was a brutal dictator that had absolute power. A year later, he was assassinated by a group of rebels that were determined to end his reign.
In 1938, Minerva’s father permitted her to go away to boarding school along with her two older sisters, Patria and Dedé. Alvarez’s writing on behalf of Minerva speaks volumes as to the point of view Minerva had growing up. “And that’s how I got free. I don’t mean just going to sleepaway school on a train with a trunkful of new things. I mean in my head after I got to Inmaculada and met Sinita and saw what happened to Lina and realized that I’d left a small cage to go into a bigger one, the size of our whole country,” (Alvarez 13). Minerva’s father, said that out of all his daughters, Minerva should have been born a boy. The other Mirabal sisters said that she was their father’s favorite daughter because Minerva acted the most like a son to him. She almost became the son he had always wanted, but never had. Due to her father’s influence, as Minerva grew up, she aspired to being a lawyer. Something which was unheard of for a woman in the ‘40s.
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 ...
At the hands of Trujillo’s secret police and cabinet members, the Dominican people faced oppression and fear in the midst of his tyranny. Opposition to Trujillo's
Out of all the Mirabal sisters, being courageous was Minerva’s specialty to show how she feels without being verbal with her emotions, and to get her point across. Right from the beginning of the book Minerva chose to create actions that were not only courageous, but reckless. After Minerva found out about her other sisters she crashed her father’s Jeep into his Ford at his other lover’s house. As always, she wanted to make a scene, “My voice was as commanding as his. ‘You’ve lost my respect,’” (Alvarez 89). Her father was extremely disappointed with her, but she wanted him to know that what he was doing was extremely wrong. Crashing her father’s cars was definitely brave, and especially since she did it in front of her other family without any second thoughts. Towards the middle of the book, Minerva informed Mate about some things she did not know, “Manolo and Minerva have explained everything. A national underground is forming,” and this is when Minerva explained more about how they created a national underground to try to get everybody freedom no matter what happened (Alvarez 142). This national underground was a h...
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is an account of the four Mirabal sisters’ lives in the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship. Three of the Mirabal sisters - Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom by participating in the underground movement which opposed Trujillo’s dictatorship. Their participation in the revolution was a threat to Trujillo’s power and this resulted in the three sisters being killed. The novel tells the story from the point of view of each of the four siblings. The sisters, also referred to as, “The Butterflies,” each had a different approach to dealing with life under Trujillo’s reign. Minerva, the first person from her family to join the revolution, was motivated by principles and she contributed consistently to the revolution. Dede is the only survivor from the Mirabal sisters’ family, this is because she did not participate in the revolution. However, she takes care of the deceased children and tells the story of
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
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.
Esperanza, the most liberated of the sisters, devoted her life to make other people’s lives better. She became a reporter and later on died while covering the Gulf Crisis. She returned home, to her family as a spirit. At first, she spoke through La Llorona, a messenger who informed La Loca that her sister has died. All her family members saw her. She appeared to her mother as a little girl who had a nightmare and went near to her mother for comfort. Caridad had conversations with her about politics and La Loca talked to her by the river behind their home.
In the story, there are many examples of women who suffer from a lack of an education. One of the Mirabal sisters, Patria, has a dream of becoming a nun, but Papa does not support her. “It started with Patria wanting to be a nun. Mamá was all for having religion in the family, but Papá did not approve in the least. More than once, he said that Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl. He only said that once in front of Mamá, but he repeated it often enough to me.” (Ch. 2 pg. 11) Papa believes that a woman cannot be more than a pretty face, that they should not pursue their interests and have an equal position in society. This describes that women were not allowed to become more than they could be. When Minerva tells her family that she aspires to become a lawyer, her mother does not take her seriously: Ay, Dios mío, spare me." Mamá sighs, but playfulness has come back into her voice. "Just what we need, skirts in the law!"(Ch. 1 Pg. 10) This shows that even Mama believes that women should not have a say in certain matters because she has a notion that women were not cut out for things like politics. Sometimes, even the women agree that they should not have equal representation as men. Mama seems to imply that it may be better for woman to preserve one’s innocence and integrity by avoiding politics. Minerva again argues that women deserve equality in their society. This is because at that time, the thought of a woman studying law was unusual. No one believed that a woman would be capable of studying law, which proved that women were not considered equal. Even though women were not given equal opportunities as men, the sisters fought for equality, and
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina reigned over the Dominican Republic in a dictatorship, extending over thirty years. He is known as having been the “most ruthless dictator in Latin America.” However, there is another side to the story. Trujillo was the third son of a humble sheep herder and worked as a sugar plantation guard in his adolescent years. He enlisted in the United States Marines Corp during the U.S.’s occupation in the Dominican Republic. He built himself up to National Commander and claimed presidency in 1930. He was a man known to be surrounded by “a surfeit of booze, women, wealth, power, and enemies.” Until his final years, he was admired by the Dominican people and seen as a demi-god and savior. During his first prosperous years
“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
“had to be brave for Sinita.” (19). This “hero’s attitude” is further evident in Minerva’s interactions with her sisters. One poignant example of this heroism is seen when Maria Teresa confronts minerva about why she was going to secret meetings at Don Horacio’s house, and asks her why she's doing such a dangerous thing. Minerva responds that she wants maria teresa to grow up in a free country, perfectly illustrating how minerva is willing to sacrifice herself so that the people around her can grow up in a better
Around the time of the late 1940s, Castro had joined in a group in which one of the leaders were killed. The Group was the socialist Party of the Cuban People. Castro stole guns for the group, and had returned home later that year. He had a children the year later, with his wife Mirta Diaz Bal...
“In The Time of The Butterflies” the sisters were revolutionary activist who were against the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo. The author, Julia Alvarez, uses the four Mirabal sisters to express four different routes of
Rafael Trujillo was the infamous dictator of the Dominican Republic. He was often feared by some and loved by others. Trujillo often attracted followers by utilizing his sexual intrigue. He would take advantage of woman to boost his political power and to put his subjugates on a higher pedestal . Trujillo also changed the “common Dominican household”, with this being he aided in changing the gender relations between males and females. Trujillo also utilized the infamous trait that various men from Latin America take pride, Machismo. With this being said Trujillo utilized gender relation, sexual intrigue and machismo to his favor to get the citizens to jump on his bandwagon causing them to legitimately agree with his regime.