#dominicanrepublic #american #newyork #juliaalvarez #writer #author #hispanicheritage #inthelandofthebutterflies #mariposa
November 25th is a day for teaching Dominican history as well as female history. Today is reserved as the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It was inspired by the Mirabal Sisters from the Dominican Republic, known as the "Inolvidables Mariposas", or "Unforgettable Butterflies".
On this day, November 25th, 3 out of 4 Mirabal Sisters were tragically executed by Rafael Trujillo's orders. Patria Mirabal, Minerva Mirabal, and María Teresa Mirabal were the murdered sisters. The Mirabal Sisters, and the Mariposa Movement, have since become a world symbol against violence towards women.
Trujillo was the dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930-1961. He is known as one of the most brutal dictators that Latin America has had. The Mirabal sisters were activists against the Trujillo regime. In 1960 Trujillo ordered the violent assassination of the 3 Mirabal Sisters in the Dominican Republic. The country was in chaos after their tragic murders and revolted against Trujillo, resulting in his own assassination and ending to his regime in 1961. The Mirabal Sisters and the Mariposa Movement gained a world audience after author Julia Alvarez's book In the Time of the Butterflies. Alvarez wrote the book with the help of the 4th surviving Mirabal sister, Dede.
Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American author and poet. She is best known for her novels: How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent and In The Time Of The Butterflies. Here are some lesson plans you can use in your classroom: Women and Revolution, and In the Time of the Butterflies. Here is a link to the movie adaptation (staring Marc Anthony, Selma Hayek, and Edward James Olmos).
In remembrance of them, the United Nations declared November 25th (the memorial of their deaths) the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women. The UN's Elimination of Violence Against Women 2020's theme is "Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!". November 25th to December 10th is reserved for activism against violence against women. The United Nations has also named today "Orange Day" and uses the color orange and umbrellas to symbolically represent stopping violence against women. Orange represents a bright future for females free from violence and umbrellas symbolize standing together; united under the movement. You van view the exhibition here.
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