The Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean. It is half of the island of Hispaniola (the other half being Haiti). Many parts of the Dominican Republic are now seen as popular vacation spots (Puerto Plata and Punta Cana). The Dominican Republic has the most visitors in the Caribbean. The country is beautiful; with breathtakingly gorgeous beaches and unique geography. Not only is the geography diverse, but the people are as well. Dominican people come in all different races. The beauty of the Dominican Republic’s county is apparent. The history of this country however, was not always so beautiful. Like most Latin American countries, the Dominican Republic had a long line of aggressive leaders. From caudillos to dictators, Latin …show more content…
Her birthday landed on the anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s Independence Day, which is why her parent’s gave her the name Patria (meaning “fatherland” or homeland). Patria was the last of her sisters to join the efforts. She joined soon after she witnessed a massacre by Trujillo’s men. Patria was very supportive of her sister’s efforts against the Trujillo regime. Patria’s main concern was for the future her country and for the children who would become the future.
The Mirabal Sisters’ husbands also were anti-Trujillo and helped them form a group of supporters. Their group was called the Movement of the Fourteenth of June. It was named after the date of the massacre that Patria had witnessed. They wanted to spread knowledge of the disgusting things that Trujillo was doing to the people of the Dominican Republic that many people were blind to. They distributed pamphlets to the people and called themselves “Las Mariposas” (“the Butterflies”).
Trujillo did not take kindly to this revolt. He did what he could to quiet the sisters. He jailed them (and their husbands) took their property and made their life as difficult as he could. However the sisters never lost sight of their goal. They wanted to free their country of this government and nothing was going to stop them. Not even
... 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.
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
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
Between all of this, on December 14, 1953, the sisters’ father passed away. This allowed their mother to move to a different smaller house three years later and after their mother died on January 20, 1981, it was then turned into El Museo Hermanas Mirabal (The Mirabal Sisters Museum). As the 4th sister, Belgica was not present on that tragic day she dedicated her life to honoring her sister 's’ death. She later died at the age of 88 on February 1st, 2014. Las Hermanas Mirabal were the bravest women in all of the Dominican Republic given that they were the only ones who actually confronted Trujillo and even gave their life for their country. Visiting Salcedo was very enjoyable. Not only because it was my vacation but also because of how calm it felt to be there. Everyone is very humble and despite the fact that most of them don’t have much, they always offer everything they can to make you feel welcome. I always look forward to visiting Salcedo because even though it isn’t my birthplace, it still feels like home. Salcedo is home to most of my family in the Dominican republic and I can’t wait to
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.
It was quite fitting that the main base for the location setting of this story was in New Jersey, which is a quintessential destination for Dominican immigration. Many of the topics of Dominican society that were discussed in this
In the chapter One Island, Two Peoples, Two Histories: The Dominican Republic and Haiti the present day differences of Haiti and The Dominican Republic are explained through the political, social, and ecological history of both locations. The Dominican Republic, although it is still considered a developing country, is in a objectively worse state than Haiti. Haiti’s environmental policies failed so horrendously in the past that the area is in a visible state of disarray. With only 1% of the country still forested, not only is the visual draw of the country lessened, but the prospect of wood trading that the forests once offered is almost obsolete. This greatly effects the outside world’s image of Haiti which, given the financial gain tourism
The Dominican Republic or also known as La Republica Dominicana is a small island that is 18,816 square miles, located off the coast of Florida. The Dominicans of this land share their island with the Haitians. The island has a subtropical climate, mountains, rolling hills, and fertile river valleys. The economy is mainly dominated by sugar, which still earns much of the country's foreign exchange despite establishment of varied light industries and the development of nickel, mining and tourism. Coffee, cocoa, tobacco, and bananas are also a major export crop. But, despite their seemingly stable economy, and lush landscaping, a vast majority of the estimated 8,603,200 people that live there wish to migrate to the United States. This may be due to the fact that since the time the Dominican Republic was proclaimed in 1844 as a dictatorship, it has come under the attack of bad political leadership, and civil strife. In 1899 the country was bankrupted by civil strife after the murder of Ulises Heureaux, their dictator. Shortly after that the country came under U.S. control. Even under U.S. control the country still suffered from dictators with highly restrictive policies on leaving the island, and harsh economic conditions. These terrible economic conditions only worsened and caused a gigantic influx of immigrants from the Dominican Republic to the United States in the early 80's and even more in the 90's (Hale-Benson, p. 97). The people came in groves to the United States seeking more opportunities and a better life, but they soon learned that they would face many of the same cultural, racial and ethnic barriers that other ethnic immigrants have faced when seeking a new life in a new land. In this paper I w...
de Besault, Lawrence. President Trujillo: His work and the Dominican Republic. Santiago: Editorial El Diario, 1941.
They’ve set a shining example of how the will to make a difference can have drastic and incredible results effective or not to the immediate situation at hand, it encourages the surrounding people to question the value of their freedom. After the dictatorship fell, the trial of the murderers was on T.V. for a month, and they admitted to killing the Mirabal sisters and Rufino by strangulation. Although they died however, their sacrifice had not gone unnoticed. The memory of their sacrifice is honored today, by a national holiday and monuments, and through these closure is found, but their story is not lost. “Las Mariposas” leave an important legacy that enforces the ever existing
It is influential to have strong people who want to fight for their rights. It is often easy to focus on oppression than it is to change it. It takes courage to be able to go against the rules of law. In both “In The Time Of The Butterflies” and “The Censors” , Juan and the Mariposas not only reveal their courage, but also develop significant symbols to the roles of each one of them during their time overcoming oppression. The Mirabal’s behavior towards their determination to fight for freedom, symbolizes the hope for freedom. The Dominicans were blessed to have four courageous women who went against the law in order to better their country for all. In the other hand, Juan role to overcome oppression resulted in his death and death to many innocent people. His behavior symbolize distrust, one cannot trust anyone, not even yourself. He was so caught up with his job, doing what he believed was right, he ended up censoring
During 1492, when Christopher Columbus first landed on Hispaniola, it created war and violence between the Tainos, who were native to their homeland and the Spanish who previously arrived there. It created a cruel, exploitative unbalanced society because the Spanish colony imposed restrictions on citizens. Then, Trujillo came to power and strictly enforced laws which people rebelled. He used the power of secret police to spy on citizens, and killed massacred Haitian immigrants. He dominated the power structure in Dominican society, which made everyone powerless and fearful. For years, people faced violence and instability due to the vicious treatment of Trujillo. The corruption still exists when Trujillo is in power, the Dominican society is cursed. This can be seen throughout the novel, The Brief and Wondrous life of Oscar Wao, because the fuku has taken over the lives Belicia, Lola, and Oscar’s lives due to the downfall they faced. Belicia did not have much guidance as a child, she was an Orphan who was destroyed emotionally and spiritually by men. Oscar on the other hand, was a nerd who had trouble communicating with girls who lacked affections for him.
The Dominican Republic declared their independence from Haiti by the liberal thinker Juan Pablo Duarte in 1844. Before the island was named La Hispaniola and its habitants were the Taino. It was discover by the Italian but, working under the Spaniard Catholic Monarchs Christopher Columbus. La Hispaniola was made out of two countries we know today Haiti and Dominican Republic. While the country was declared under Spain power, the Taino got banish off the land, by the hard labor Spaniards made them do. Therefore, the Spanish speakers started to import slaves from Africa. Now there’s around 10,478,756 Dominicans with a population of 73% mix, 16% white, and 11% black. Today, the Dominican Republic is one of the most famous touristic places in the
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.
Lately, the “Dominican Republic is Cracking Down on Sex Trafficking and Prostitution (2013), and those who use the services of prostitutes can be charged as accessories to pandering and face a sentence of 10-15 years in prison. The age of consent in the Dominican Republic is 15 years of age, regardless of gender or sexual orientation (Huffington Post, 2013)”. Through further research about this topic, the prostitution rate per capita in the Dominican Republic is considered very high. Additionally, the Dominican Republic is statistically the 4th largest exporter of prostitutes in the world behind Brazil, Thailand and the Philippines. The Dominican Republic received over two million visitors in 2000. European tourists accounted for 57 percent of visitors in 1998 to 30 percent from Canada and US (Ministry of Tourism Office, 1998).