In November of 1960, three young women in the Dominican Republic were ambushed and killed as they were driving back from visiting their husbands in jail. The Mirabal sisters grew up under the dictatorship of Trujillo and became involved in revolutionary activities against the regime. The murders of these young women eventually led to the assassination of Trujillo in 1961. Julia Alvarez has written a beautiful, haunting novel based on the lives of these sisters, and the story is told by Dede, the surviving sister. Each sister comes alive in this account of the tragedy. In the Dominican Republic, these martyred young women are known as "las mariposas" or "the butterflies".
Author Julia Alvarez lived in the Dominican Republic with her family, and they left in 1960 four months before the Mirabal sisters were murdered. Today Ms. Alvarez lives in Vermont. You can learn more about Julia and her writing at her website.
http://www.juliaalvarez.com/
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