The Mirabal sisters began their flight towards eternity, but their legacy is still present among Dominicans

Santo Domingo. – Homeland, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal were brutally murdered November 25, 1960. More than half a century has passed since their physical disappearance as a result of their activism against the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, but their legacy is still present throughout the Dominican Republic, which remembers them as a symbol of freedom, patriotism and feminism.

They were born in the community of Water EyeSalcedo, located in the north of the country, and although their family had no direct ties to politics, the three sisters became involved in the fight against the regime due to the injustices suffered by citizens.

Rafael Leonidas Trujillo He directed the destinies of the country with a strong hand from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. His years of government were full of repression, censorship and torture against those who opposed his dictatorship, many of whom died under his orders.

This is the case of the Mirabal sisters, who actively participated in the groups that sought to overthrow the dictator, such as the June 14 Movement led by Manolo Tavárez Justo, who set out to end the Trujillo regime and advocate for a more just and equitable society, in which human rights, social justice and democracy were fundamental.

their lives

“This is not only a cause for men, but also for women… and with great courage… we cannot let our children grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime, we have to fight against it, and I am willing to give everything, as much my life if necessary.” This is how it was expressed Homelandthe eldest of the sisters who was born in 1924 and was named after her parents Enrique Mirabal Fernández and Mercedes Reyes Camilo, for coming into the world on 2February 7date on which the National Independence of the Dominican Republic is commemorated.

She was a lover of art and graduated in typing at the Inmaculada Concepción school in La Vega. She married the farmer Pedro Antonio González with whom she had Nelson Enrique, Noris Mercedes, Raúl Ernesto, and Juan Antonio, who died five months after his birth.

Minerva Mirabal She was born two years later, on March 12, 1926, and from a young age she stood out for her intelligencelearned to read and write at an early age, graduated in literature and philosophy in high school, and became a law professional at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD).

In that house of higher education she met her husband, the leader of the June 14 Movement, Manolo Tavarez Justowith whom he had Minerva Josefina Tavárez Mirabal (Minou), deputy of the Republic between the periods 2002 and 2016, and Manuel Enrique.

With her husband she shared patriotic ideals, which is why she actively participated in the group formed by young people to overthrow the government of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, eventually being confined in the feared “La 40” prison, where those arrested were subjected to torture.

Maria Theresa She was the youngest, she was born on October 15, 1935 and, like her sisters, she spent her first years of schooling at the Inmaculada Concepción school in La Vega, then she specialized in mathematics in high school, and at a higher level she studied surveying at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo.

She married Leandro Guzmán with whom she had her only daughter, Jaqueline Guzmán Mirabal. She was defined by those who knew her as stubborn, brave and daringcharacteristics that made her part of the fight against the Trujillo regime, for which she was imprisoned in the Salcedo Military Fortress.

Their deaths

The Mirabal they died on the afternoon of November 25, 1960 when they were returning home after seeing their husbands, members of the June 14 Movement, in prison. San Felipe de Puerto Plataafter being sentenced to 30 years in prison for their plans to overthrow Trujillo.

On the way, the vehicle that was transporting them, driven by Rufino de la Cruz, was ambushed by agents of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM), who forced the sisters to get out of the jeep that was taking them home to take them to the Cumbre community. in Puerto Plata, where within a reedbed They were severely beaten with sticks and other objects until they died.

Their driver was also murdered, and rests next to them in the Mirabal Sisters Museum located in his last house of residence in Salcedo.

The murder of Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal sent the country into mourning and was a decisive factor in the fall of the tyrant Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. May 30, 1961.

Trivia

In his honor, every November 25 since 1999, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Womenby order of the United Nations (UN).
Dedé Mirabal was the only sister who survived, and she had a less active role in the fight against the Trujillo regime. But he took responsibility for the descendants of his deceased relatives and took charge of keeping their memory alive with the founding of a house museumwhich he directed until his death in 2014. His son, Jaime David Fernández Mirabal, was vice president of the Republic between 1996 and 2000.
the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by the writer of Dominican origin Julia Álvarez, tells the story of the heroic Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal. The work also hit theaters with the film of the same name starring Oscar nominee Salma Hayek.
The poet Pedro Mir dedicated the poem to Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal Amen to the Butterflies.
In 2023 the platform Disney Plus premiered the series El Grito de las Mariposas, inspired by the lives of the three sisters.
In 2022, the producer and playwright Waddys Jáquez brought the story of the Mirabals to the theater with the musical Steel Butterflies which was received positively by audiences and critics.
In 2007 with the law 389-07 Proposed by the then deputies Víctor Valdemar Suárez and Afif Nazario Rizek, the Salcedo province was renamed Hermanas Mirabal.