The Mirabal Sisters

The Mirabal Sisters. By Shamaya N. Miller. [image] A person with long hair smiling Description automatically generated.

Introduction: who are the Mirabal sisters?. The Mirabal sisters was a group of four sisters named Patria, Minerva, Belgica Adela, and Maria Teresa Mirabal who lived in the Dominican Republic. They opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo and his treatment of the Dominicans. They were involved in protests and clandestine activities against his regime. Today the people of the Dominican Republic honor them for their courage and bravery during that difficult time..

Background information: early life. The sisters were born in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic to a middle-class family. Their parents, Enrique Mirabal Fernandez and Mercedes Reyes Camilo, were landowners in that area and owned a farm in the village of Ojo de Agua. All four of the children attended primary school in their village and attended a Catholic boarding school..

Their cultural heritage and dreams for the Dominican Republic.

Education and Careers. When Patricia, the oldest of the sisters, was 14 she was sent by her parents to study at Colegio Inmaculada Concepcion in La Vega and left when she was 17. Belgica Adela, who was commonly called Dede, helped with the family business instead of going to college. Minerva finished high school and enrolled at the University of Santo Domingo to study law. Maria Teresa, who was the youngest, attended the University of Santo Domingo along with her older sister to study Mathematics.

Significant contributions to their fields. After enrolling in the University of Santo Domingo Minerva discovered her friend Deisi Arza's father was killed by Trujillo for opposing him. This event along with many others was the catalyst that planted the seeds in Minerva and her sisters to fight against Trujillo. A couple of years later Mirabal completed her degree and became the first women ever in the Dominican Republic to earn summa cum laude. Unfortunately, her degree and license was stripped due to her opposition of Rafael Trujillo, however this only fueled Mirabal and her sisters to carry on forward..

Political activities. The Mirabal sisters and their husbands were one of the main leaders of the 14 June Movement. The movement was created in support of the Dominican rebels who were killed in attempt to overthrow Rafael Trujillo. In 1960 Minerva and Maria Teresa were incarcerated due to their protests. In the same year, the Organization of American States condemned their arrests and had Trujillo release them..

The deaths of Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa. On November 25, 1960. Patria, MInerva, and Maria Teresa and their driver, Rufino de la Cruz, were visiting Maria Teresa and Minerva's incarcerated husbands who were jailed because of their protests. On their way home they were stopped by one of Trujillo's men. Shortly after, the sisters and their driver were forcibly separated, strangled, and clubbed to death. The bodies were then put into a jeep to be ran off the road to make their deaths look like an accident. Patria was 36, Minerva was 34, and Maria Teresa was 25..

The end of Rafael Trujillo's power. Despite the tragedy of Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa their deaths were not in vain. Their murders had a profound effect on the Dominicans and caused them to revolt against Trujillo. Their deaths were so powerful that it paved the way for Rafael Trujillo's own assassination sixth months later..

Legacy carried on. As the sole surviving sister of Trujillo's regime Dede Mirabal was left feeling guilty and tried to find meaning in her life again. She did so by carrying on the legacy that her sisters left behind. Dede wrote of her sisters' revolutionary acts in her 2009, memoir, "Vivas en Su Jardin" ("Alive in Their Garden") preserved in a museum in their hometown. There she would tell visitor of how her sisters' death sparked the revolution that eventually led to Trujillo's own assassination. When asked, "why did you survive?" She would reply "I stayed alive to tell their stories." Dede Mirabal spent the rest of her life telling the stories of her sisters' heroic bravery before finally resting in peace on February 1, 2014..

Remembering Patria, Minerva, Dede, and Maria Teresa Mirabal.