The Butterflies

November 25 is observed in many Latin American countries as International Day Against Violence Towards Women. The date marks the anniversary of the assassination of the three "Butterflies": Minerva, Maria Teresa and Patria Mirabal.

Part of the July 14 Movement, they were key members of the underground resistance to the Trujillo dictatorship. The sisters, all mothers of young children, had been captured and jailed, but were released after an international campaign put pressure on the regime.

On November 25, 1960, they were returning from visiting Minerva and Patria's husbands, who were still imprisoned and had recently been transferred to a more distant jail. Trujillo's agents were waiting on an isolated stretch of mountain road. They killed the three women and their driver. To make it appear an accident, the car was pushed over a cliff.

"The Butterflies" continue to be important symbols of struggle in the Dominican Republic, particularly for women, who have traditionally been excluded from power and relegated to an inferior social position.

More information about the butterflies can be found at these sites:

        The Mirabals

        The Mirabal Influence   

        In the Time of the Butterflies     by Julia Alvarez

            available at most bookstores for about $14.00

            review by Amazon.com
A tale of courage and sisterhood set in the Dominican Republic during the rise of the Trujillo dictatorship. A skillful blend of fact and fiction, In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government. Alvarez breathes life into these historical figures--known as "las mariposas," or "the butterflies," in the underground--as she imagines their teenage years, their gradual involvement with the revolution, and their terror as their dissentience is uncovered.