The Mirabal Sister's Biography
The Mirabal sisters
The Mirabal sisters –also known as “Las Mariposas” (The Butterflies)- were three Dominican sisters who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo and is in honor to their death that is commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The three women became iconic for the Hispanic and women history because of their participation in movement against the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
We’d decided to honor them remembering what they have done before and after their deaths
The three women were born in Ojo de Agua, a small town belonging to the Salcedo province on the island. They were daughters of the marriage formed by Mercedes Reyes Camilo and the landowner Enrique Mirabal, who had four daughters in total (Belgica Adela was not imprisoned by the dictatorship and survived her sisters) .The Mirabal girls showed from childhood to be owners of a prodigious intelligence. However, Minerva stood out above the others thanks to her sharp mind, love of the arts, and beauty.
In 1949 the family was invited to a reception in honor of General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. During the event the dictator saw the beauty of the second sister and started flirting with her without much success.
Because of the girl's refusals, Trujillo ordered the family to be guarded and had the father arrested, soon Minerva and several of her friends ended up in the same way, behind bars, but they were released after a few weeks. Enrique Mirabal, on the other hand, was arrested and released several times in subsequent years, until he fell ill and died in December 1953.
Minerva married Manolo Tavares in 1955, a law student opposed to the regime.
The social uprisings that took place in Latin America at the end of the 1950s, especially the revolt organized against Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, led to the creation of a movement against the Trujillo dictatorship on the island, it was called Agrupación 14 de Junio - in honor of an armed expedition from Cuba that arrived in the Dominican Republic on that date. Tavares was its first president and the sisters played a key role in the dissent, they were known as "Las Mariposas".
The oppressive government headed by Trujillo wasted no time in apprehending all those involved in the creation of teh Agrupacion 14 de Julio. More than a hundred people were tortured and several of them die. The presence of several members of the more wealthy families on the island among the prisoners increased social pressure to the Trujillo government, due to this many were released, although government surveillance and police harassment continued in their daily day. Manolo Tavares and other members of the movement were left behind bars.
"If they kill me, I will take my arms out of the grave and I will be stronger"
-Minerva Mirabal answering the death therats from the dictator Rafael Trujillo
On November 25, 1960, Minerva, María Teresa and Patria were captured when they were returning home after visiting their partners in jail. Intercepted by a group of agents, they were brutally beaten, executed and thrown into a ravine inside the jeep in which they were ambushed.
The murder of the Mirabal sisters shocked Dominican society. Trujillo sought to silence the rebels with execution, but the deaths of the young women only increased the pressure against his government. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo was ambushed on Tuesday, May 30, 1961 by a group of dissidents.
Such was the impact generated by the Mirabal sisters that today they have a museum with their name:
The Mirabal Sisters House Museum is located in the municipality of Salcedo. The property belonged to the Mirabal family.
The house was built in 1954 and retains its original condition. It is made of wood and concrete, it is surrounded by a huge garden and in it is exhibited a collection of personal and everyday items of the Mirabal sisters: antique furniture, paintings, dresses, tablecloths, etc. There is also a library and an administrative office.
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