1994: In the Time of the Butterflies
Author/Editor: Julia Alvarez
In the Time of the Butterflies was Julia Alvarez’s second novel, and it was one that came very much out of the connection between her personal history and the history of the Dominican Republic. Alvarez was born in New York, but moved as an infant to the Dominican Republic, where her father was active active in a resistance cell against Trujillo. In 1960, her father was found out by the police, and the family fled back to New York, where Alvarez had been born.
Also in 1960, Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal, three sisters active in the resistance, were murdered by Trujillo’s forces. In the Time of the Butterflies tells their story through their surviving sister, Dedé. A year later, Trujillo was assassinated.
Alvarez’s book was published in 1994, and in 1999 November 25th was designated as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by the United Nations.
