In the Time of the Butterflies
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2009
1
11
Trip End
Apr 29, 2009
Salcedo, Dominican Republic
Saturday, January 31, 2009
These women heavily opposed the dictatorship of Trujillo and headed a revolutionary movement. Tragically, three of the sisters were killed by Trujillo's men in 1960 and the corrupt government tried to make it look like a car accident. We visited the house where they lived in hiding for the last 10 months of their lives. It was pretty neat to see how talented these young ladies were - they painted, sketched, sculpted, sewed, studied law, designed gardens, among other accomplishments.
They have become the faces of freedom here in the DR and represent a movement opposing violence against women. The novel "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alverez is based on their story...I bought it today at the museum because I love Alvarez as an author & it seems it will be inspirational.
And the coolest part was that we got to meet and hear from the surviving sister, Dedé. She was a very commanding beautiful old woman.
I think it was the perfect compliment to the book I've been going through on the Proverbs 31 woman. From what I've seen, Las Hermanas Mirabal embodied the same values of strength, determination and excellence.
