A committed Dominican lawyer, Minerva Mirabal (1926 – 1960) stood up with her sisters María Teresa and Patria against the dictator Rafael Trujillo. All three will pay dearly for their commitment, and will become martyrs of freedom.
The four Mirabal girls
Born on March 13, 1926, María Argentina Minerva Mirabal is the third daughter of Mercedes Reyes Camilo and Enrique Mirabal, a wealthy merchant and landowner. Her big sister Patria, two years her senior, takes her first name from the fact that she was born on February 27, the day of commemoration of the independence of the Dominican Republic. Bélgica Adela was born in 1925, and Antonia María Teresa, the youngest, in 1935. All four grew up in Salcedo, a town in the north of the Dominican Republic.
Raised in a wealthy environment, the four sisters benefit from a quality education. Patria was passionate about painting while Minerva, renowned for her quick-wittedness, learned to read from the age of five and recited French poetry, notably Victor Hugo, from the age of seven. She is passionate about literature and devours works of poetry, while also being interested in painting.
The four sisters grew up under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, who came to power in 1930 following a coup. Quickly, the latter imposes his party as the only party, stirs up hatred towards the Haitian people to the point of massacre, develops a cult around his person and enriches himself by preempting land and industries. Contrary to the practice that is taking hold, the Mirabals do not display a portrait of the dictator in their homes, which means that they are considered hostile to the power in place.
Different fates
The Mirabal sisters did their primary studies in Salcedo. From 1938, the three eldest sisters were sent to the college of the Inmaculada Concepción in La Vega, a city located further south, while María Teresa, still in her tender childhood, stayed at home.
The sisters each follow their own path. With a degree in typing, Patria married young. At 17, she married Pedro Antonio González, a descendant of a family of wealthy landowners, with whom she had four children. Bélgica Adela, known as Dedé, helps her father with the family affairs. Minerva obtained in 1946 a degree in Letters and Philosophy. María Teresa will later study mathematics.
With the exception of Dedé, who takes care of family affairs, the Mirabal sisters, despite their different trajectories, will keep in common their active opposition to the Trujillo dictatorship.
Meeting with the dictator
The destiny of the Mirabals was changed in 1949, when the family was invited to a party in honor of Trujillo at the Government Palace in Santiago. The dictator is immediately attracted to Minerva, of great beauty as well as a keen intelligence. Quickly, the family receives an invitation for another party, in Jarabacoa. Trujillo takes advantage of a dance to make advances to the 23-year-old young woman, advances which she firmly rejects.
In October of the same year, the Mirabals received an invitation from high-ranking officials to a party at a country house in Trujillo. The dictator's interest in Minerva couldn't be clearer, so Mercedes wants to decline the invitation first. As the consequences of a refusal promise to be potentially serious for the family, the Mirabals finally decide to go all there, including the spouses of Patria and Dedé. During the party, Minerva undergoes new advances from Trujillo and opposes him with a new firm refusal. The Mirabal family then left the festivities. Trujillo is furious.
A few days later, Enrique Mirabal was arrested and imprisoned. Minerva and several of her friends are arrested soon after, and questioned about the young woman's relations with the Popular Socialist Party. Released, Minerva and her entourage, particularly her family, remain under close surveillance by the dictator. His father will eventually die as a result of the mistreatment suffered during his incarceration.
The Mariposa sisters
After this episode, Minerva Mirabal enrolls in university to learn law, despite the reluctance of her parents who fear that she will get into trouble by getting involved in politics. She graduated with flying colors, becoming at the same time the first Dominican woman to obtain a law degree. Trujillo's antagonism will cost her her license, however, and she will not be allowed to practice law. During her studies, Minerva meets Manolo Tavárez Justo, a student and opponent of the power in place like her, whom she marries. They will have three children between 1956 and 1960.
Of the Mirabal sisters, Minerva is the most engaged against Trujillo; during her studies, she learned of the death of one of her friends by order of the dictator. She even takes a position publicly, which is why she is arrested several times by the secret services. Her sister María Teresa joins her in her fight after a stay at her home, followed by their eldest Patria who witnessed a massacre. Dedé remains in the background, perhaps because of her husband's opposition.
In the clandestine meetings of opposition to the dictator in which she takes part, Minerva makes herself known under the nickname of “mariposa”, butterfly. What will be worth to the three sisters to be known as the “hermanas mariposas”, the butterfly sisters.
The Revolutionary Movement of June 14
Around the Mirabal sisters and their husbands was born a dissident movement, the Revolutionary Movement of June 14, named in tribute to an attempted insurrection harshly repressed on June 14, 1959. The organization, led by Minerva and her husband, wanted to bring together groups opposed to Trujillo, and prepare a revolution. Most members of the Mirabal family are involved:Patria, Minerva, María Teresa and their husbands, but also Patria's teenage children. They organize clandestine meetings, produce and distribute leaflets, collect weapons and explosives for the revolution.
From January 1960, members of the movement were arrested and imprisoned. Minerva, María Teresa, their husbands as well as that of Patria and one of her sons, are imprisoned. International opposition to the Trujillo regime is mounting and the Organization of American States condemns the arrests and sends observers to the scene. Minerva and María Teresa, although sentenced to three years in prison, are released, while the husbands of the Mirabal sisters remain incarcerated.
The assassination of the Mirabal sisters
Barely out of prison, the Mariposas sisters resume their clandestine activities in opposition to the regime. Aware of the danger hanging over them, they do not plan to give up the fight. María Teresa said:"What we may be closest to is death, but that idea does not scare me:we will continue to fight for what is right. »
Trujillo is now determined to get rid of the Mirabal sisters for good. In a gesture of apparent goodwill, he had their husbands transferred to Salcedo prison, near their home. The journey to visit their husbands is now shorter, but also known. On November 25, 1960, as Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal returned from their weekly visit to their husbands, they were ambushed by members of the Secret Service. Taken at gunpoint to a country house, they are murdered along with their driver. Their bodies are then returned to their vehicle, which is thrown from the top of a precipice.
The assassination of the Mirabal sisters causes fear and indignation throughout the country, and strengthens the opposition to Trujillo. The dictator will be assassinated six months later. Dedé, the only survivor, takes in and raises her sisters' children, and dedicates the rest of her life to their memory:she creates a foundation and a museum, and writes a book, Vivas en su Jardín .
In 1999, the United Nations chose November 25, the date of the assassination of Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal, as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.