Trujillo and the Mirabel Sisters

This is the home that he had specially built for himself.

Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961.  His 30 years in power is considered to be one of the bloodiest eras ever in the Americas. It has been estimated that Trujillo's infamous rule was responsible for the death of more than 50,000 people, including 20,000 to 30,000 in the Parsley Massacre when Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border between the two countries were murdered.  He had several wives and many girl friends (whether they wanted to be his girl friend of not.)

This was a reception room.

Here's the ballroom.

He was born in San Cristobal, the sweet town that we visited in our last blog post.  After he rose to power, he built a large, intricately designed home that he ended up not liking and gave to his brother.  We had the opportunity to visit his home when we were in San Cristobal.

All of the rooms have ornate ceilings and other decor.   

The ballroom celing.

Another amazing ceiling 

Yet another in the dining room

A mural on the wall of the dining room depicting
Dominican activities.

The city of San Cristobal.

The garden as viewed from the balcony.

This chair with the ties for wrists
 and ankles was where many folks 
were tortured.

However, even though Trujillo didn't use the room as a home, it was used as a location where many of his acts of torture occurred.    We haven't included all of the photos because they are just too graphic.  

* * * * * *

Which brings us to the Mirabal sisters... Living near the center of the country on their father's farm, the four Mirabal sisters grew up in comfort.  When she became older, Minerva, attending law school, drew the attention of Trujillo, but when she shunned him, the dictator responded by imprisoning her father. He also allowed her to get her law degree but would not give her a license to practice.  Minerva, her husband, and her sisters Patria, Maria Teresa, and Dede, along with their husbands became involved with the underground movement dedicated to destroying Trujillo The girls became known as Las Mariposas (the Butterflies) which was their code name.  Minerva and Maria Teresa were arrested, imprisoned, and tortured a number of times but wouldn't give up their quest.  They distributed pamplets and helped get guns and bombs.  One day, all the girls but Dede were returning from visiting their jailed husbands, when they were stopped by some of Trujillo's henchmen who clubbed them to death and then pushed them over the side of the mountain in their car to make it look like an accident.  

In Santo Domingo, there is a large obelisk
on the beach drive that was originally
built to honor Trujillo (built by himself
, of course) which is now painted
 with pictures of the Mirabal sisters. 

No one bought the accident, and it added additional fuel to the fire which resulted in Trujillo's assassination in May of 1961.  The girls have received a number of honors for their work.  The United Nations General Assembly designated November 25 (the day of their assassination) as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in their honor.

They also appear on the Dominican 200 peso bill.

We also, if you look back in our posts, the Church did a Humanitarian project for the Lycee Minerva Mirabel (school) named after her.

The Mirabal family home and grounds

The province where they grew up (Salcedo) has now been renamed Hermanas Mirabal province.  The home where they grew up is still standing and has been made into a museum.  Dede, who was not killed in the massacre, raised all of the girls' children and still lives on the family property - she's in her 80's now.  

There are exhibits of the girl's clothing in their
original bedrooms and many pictures and paintings in their honor.

We went to visit their home and were struck by the peace and quiet (in contrast to their lives).  










   

The graves of the three women and Minerva's husband
who died in prison.

Some of the sweet butterflies that decorate their garden.

There is a book "In the Time of the Butterflies" written by Julie Alvarez that is an account of the Mirabals' lives. We have seen the movie by the same name which is pretty graphic but an accurate depiction of their experiences.

Here we are on the grounds.

They are very inspiring women - we are certainly grateful, living here, for their sacrifices as are most Dominicans.  We wonder if we would have been brave enough to do the same.