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Mosaic 1 Reading, 4/e
Brenda Wegmann
Miki Knezevic

Remarkable Individuals

Skimming for the General Idea

Who were the Mirabal sisters? Skim the following article for the answer to this question. After you skim, choose the letter of the statement that best expresses the overall idea of the reading.

The Butterflies

A In early November 1960, the Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina declared that his two biggest problems were "the Church and the Mirabal sisters." He solved the second problem on November 25, 1960, when his own secret police brutally murdered the sisters as they returned from visiting their husbands in jail.

B Born in the town of Ojo de Agua, in Salcedo, Dominican Republic, Minerva, Patria, and María Teresa Mirabal, also known by their code name "the Butterflies," have become legends in their country because of their role in the resistance movement against the Trujillo dictatorship. Educated and well-to-do, they and their other sister, Dedé (who was not involved in the movement and is still alive today), all attended school, married, and had children. They lived most of their lives during the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who came to power in 1930 and ruled for over 30 years. Although the country was economically stable under his rule, his was an oppressive regime, and he was known for ruthlessness: tortures were common and political freedom was unheard-of, especially as he fell deeper and deeper into a state of paranoia and punished those who he thought were out to get him.

C Minerva was the first of the sisters to become involved in the resistance movement. Known far and wide for her stunning beauty, Minerva also had an extraordinary intellect, a profound commitment to political freedom, and a deep artistic and spiritual sensibility. She was a faithful opponent of the Trujillo regime from a young age. In 1949 she had become involved with a young man named Pericles Franco, a member of the socialist "Partido Socialista Popular" (Peoples' Socialist Party). By the end of the year, she was sentenced to house arrest, and Pericles and other friends were imprisoned for their political ideas. Under the dictatorship, no one was allowed to convene in groups to discuss political matters, and they could be arrested just for meeting one another. This treatment only fueled Minerva's commitment to the cause as she continued her fight against injustice, and soon her sisters, Patria and María Teresa, joined her.

D In 1959, Minerva and her husband, Manolo Tavarez Justo, would found the "14 of June" group, an armed resistance movement named after the failed Cuban invasion of the Dominican coast. They collected arms and munitions and, with their comrades, began to hatch a plan to defeat the dictatorship. They never achieved the revolution they hoped for, however. Soon word got out about the 14 of June, and in 1960, Minerva and María Teresa were both imprisoned and tortured. Although sentenced to five years in jail, they were released after a few months due to international pressure. Their husbands, however, remained incarcerated. On November 25, Minerva, Patria, and María Teresa, along with an anti-Trujillist chauffer named Rufino de la Cruz, were returning from visiting their husbands in jail when they were stopped at a roadblock and clubbed to death. Their bodies were found, broken and strangled, in a jeep pushed into a ravineā€•a scene intended to look like an accident.

E What motivated these wives and mothers to put their lives at risk for their political beliefs? At the time, the majority of political prisoners were members of the middle and upper-middle classes (although very few were women). They, unlike farmers or laborers, had the means and education to dedicate their lives to the ideas of the resistance. But the sisters' passion seemed to go beyond the purely intellectual. According to some accounts, as early as 1949, Trujillo had taken notice of the beautiful Minerva but was never able to seduce her. One story tells of Trujillo inviting the Mirabal family to a party and asking Minerva to dance. As they danced and conversed, she not only rebuffed his sexual advances, but asked him to leave her friend Pericles Franco alone. Another version says she actually slapped the dictator when he tried to grope her. Whatever the truth, the Mirabal family began to suffer as a consequence of Trujillo's resentment toward them. He subjected them to constant vigilance and various periods of house arrest. He allowed Minerva to get a law degree (the first woman to study law) but barred her from ever practicing. Enrique Mirabal, the girls' father, would be subjected to torture, humiliation, and imprisonment, which would eventually break him both physically and spiritually. He died in 1953. The sisters would never forgive Trujillo for their father's death or the harassment of their friends and family.

F The Mirabal sisters' death was not in vain. Their murder enraged the Dominican people, fueling the resistance movement, and Trujillo was assassinated soon after they were, in 1961. Because of their bravery and their legacy, November 25 is celebrated as the International Day Against Violence Against Women. The Mirabal sisters are role models not only for the citizens of the Dominican Republic, but for women and feminists all over Latin American. They have been named national martyrs in Dominican textbooks, and they have been immortalized in numerous poems, songs, and works of fiction and nonfiction, including Julia Alvarez's 1994 best-selling novel In the Time of the Butterflies and the 2001 movie of the same title.



1

A)The Mirabal sisters, also known as "the Butterflies," were rebel fighters in the armed resistance movement against Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, the Dominican dictator.
B)The Mirabal sisters, also known as "the Butterflies," were assassinated for their dedication to the resistance movement against the Dominican dictator, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo.
C)The Mirabal sisters were three Dominican women from poor backgrounds who fought the oppression of the Trujillo dictatorship and were later assassinated for their commitment to the resistance.