A couple of nights ago I had a friend over to the house for dinner and a flick and we watched the movie In the Time of the Butterflies. (**This post does discuss events that some might say would "ruin the movie" for you. I have included the trailer at the bottom of this post for those who choose to stop reading now.**) It was my friends first time watching the movie and while I had seen the movie once before, I was again moved to tears by the heartbreaking account of the life, struggle, and ultimate martyrdom of the Mirabal sisters, otherwise known as Las Mariposas (Spanish for the butterflies). Between the years of 1930 and 1961 the Dominican Republic was ruled by a brutal and vicious dictator named Rafael Trujillo who used fear and violence to maintain his power. Minerva, María Teresa, and Patria Mirabal (The Butterflies) were instrumental in the underground resistance movement against Trujillo who subsequently had them ambushed and heinously beaten to death on a secluded roadside on November 25, 1960. This gave rise to a fervent insurrection which led to Trujillo's assignation in 1961. Minerva played an atypical and pivotal leadership role in the resistance movement to overthrow the Trujillo regime and in 1999, the date in which these Dominican heroines were killed, November 25th, was established as the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women". May the spirit of Las Mariposas and all the others that have come before us and have suffered at the hands of various oppressors in the struggle for freedom and justice live on. Let us never grow weary in the struggle for social justice across the globe. Another World is Possible!
In The Time Of Butterflies Trailer
http://semdom.50megs.com/mirabal_museo.htm
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