The Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva, Maria Teresa and Belgica (Dede), were born in Ojo de Agua, in the Salcedo province, Dominican Republic. Their parents were Enrique Mirabal and Mercedes Reyes de Mirabal. They are recognized in the national history as heroines, after they stood out in the fight against Trujillo’s regime in the years 1930-1961.

Also known as “Las Mariposas” (The Butterflies), Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa were brutally assassinated onTrujillo’s order, on November 25, 1960, while on their way to Puerto Plata to visit their husbands in prison. Bélgica (Dedé) is the only surviving sister. Since then, November 25, has been denominated theDía Internacional de la Eliminación de la Violencia contra la Mujer (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), to honor the memory of these great Dominican women.

"…Many Dominicans were assassinated in 1960, among them three sisters from Conuco, Salcedo, members of the respectful Mirabal family, whose husbands were incarcerated after participating in the conspiracy originated by the invasion of June 14, of the previous year. The murder of the Mirabal sisters, which took place on November 25, 1960, overwhelmed the spirits of sensible and decent people against Trujillo and increased the atmosphere of deep antagonism that already existed against the Government…" [Text translated from the book “Manual de Historia Dominicana”, by Frank Moya Pons. 12th Edition, 2000. Caribbean Publishers]

The “Fundacion Hermanas Mirabal, Inc.” (Mirabal Sisters Foundation, Inc.), founded on November 12, 1992, with the objective of immortalizing The Butterflies, opened the “Museo Hermanas Mirabal” (Mirabal Sisters Museum) on December 8, 1994. The museum, directed and maintained by the surviving sister, Dedé, is located in the city of Conuco, Salcedo Province, Dominican Republic (Salcedo-Tenares highway). It is the house where the Mirabal sisters lived the last ten months of their lives, and it preserves intact the decor and the sister’s belongings prior to their murder.

Mirabal Sisters Museum

• Biografía Minerva Mirabal; otra biografía de Minerva
• Biografía María Teresa Mirabal; otra biografía de María Teresa
• Biografía Patria Mirabal
• Brocure de las Hermanas Mirabal

Enlaces relacionados

• “Crimen”: nueva película sobre Las Hermanas Mirabal
• Secretaría de Estado de la Mujer
• Julia Álvarez: "En el Tiempo de las Mariposas"
• http://www.jmarcano.com/mipais/biografia/mirabal1.html
• http://antillania.com/Lasmariposas.htm
• http://www.el-bohio.com/mirabal/
• http://www.27febrero.com/hermanasmirabal.htm
• http://www.misalcedo.com/hnasmirabal