In the time of the butterflies 

In the time of the butterflies

I shall introduce a story of four strong girls from the Dominican Republic, a story I was told and I plan to tell; an urban legend of sorts. This story, however, is authentic. In the 1960s, three of the four Mirabal sisters, Patria Reyes, Minerva Reyes, and Maria Teresa Reyes, started a rebellion against the nation’s president Trujillo who was acting like a dictator. Multiple times they were arrested and seized but continued their resistance, making the girls a potent symbol of power and freedom. In November 1960, they were strangled and beaten to death, and their departure was later staged as a car accident. I wanted to talk about the girls and this story because, to this day, people speak of them. However, I have always wanted to know why these girls specifically had such an impact on Trujillo’s rule, why he felt threatened enough to kill them, and how visual portrayals continued their rebellion and power of art.

I believe this is important to understand because art was one of the main things that gained traction in the rebellion against Trujillo. The art that put fear into the hearts of many Dominicans was also the art that made people stand up against him. People were forced to do things like keeping a painting of him in their homes and were often scared to speak in their own houses. His rule is known as the bloodiest 31 years in history as he and his regime are responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of people. Over the centuries, art is something that has gained so much traction and has given a vision that leads to different directions in history. Thinking about how art and its destruction shows the actual freedom of an entire nation, we can go further into the future and think about how many times over the years it has led to historical moments. I think people ignore how much

it impacts..

The singularity of this research is the ability to work with limited information when it comes to foreign affairs and how little information I can find on the sisters and Trujillo alone. I think it is hard to find information on them because, as I stated previously, they are seen by generations as somewhat of a myth or legend. I think this happens with a lot of historical events that end in horror when people do not want to acknowledge what happened. I have chosen the pieces I did because they symbolize the new freedom of the nation. Showing how these girls were a huge part of the Dominican Republic rising against their ruler is something to appreciate. I believe that many people do not see art as something powerful enough to take down or uplift such a person. However, if we look at the makes of propaganda, it has started many wars, uplifted many dictators, and led to centuries of racism and oppression for other groups of people. Art has much weight that not many people pay attention to. I choose this story because my grandmother told me about these girls, and growing up, I did not think they were real either. This was until people saw murals of them all around. These girls were important to her and thus are essential to me and my history.

The first piece of art comes in the form of a 200 peso bill, featuring the three girls. They are placed at the front and center on the bill solidifying their spot in history. The girls being on the bill represents a significant moment in their takedown of the known dictator. After his assassination, many of the bills had imagery that reminded them of Santo Domingo or  Ciudad Trujillo at the time. After he died, Santo Domingo reverted to its old name, and that was a symbol of its freedom of a nation.

The next piece I wanted to focus on is the constant murals on Trujillo’s obelisk. In 1935, Trujillo had a colossal pillar built in his honor. However, after the death of the sisters and his assassination, people had covered it in murals of the sisters in their honor. Often the sisters were seen as a significant threat to Trujillo’s ‘Machismo,’ and no matter how much he put the girls through, they continued the rebellion. Their assassination did not stop traction at all and was seen as a contributing factor to his assassination 6 months later.

The last piece of art is the mural by Amaya Salazar in 2005. Salazar created faceless paintings that represented the colors of the rebuild but also portrayed great symbols of power and freedom. The sisters were painted in honor because everyone understood that they were a significant factor in the independence of the Dominican Republic.