On Tuesday, Julia Alvarez presented her slideshow along with excerpts of her journal from her research trips for the "In the Time of the Butterflies".
I felt the tears emerging when we were shown photos of the Mirabal sisters' home at the time of their murder. The home is a museum - some of the items on display include Maria Teresa's hair (in a braid) and the blood stained dress of one of the sisters. The thought of the children left behind without a mother or father was heartbreaking. If I was there, I would want to touch the walls, furniture, and the trees on the property. Hoping that my touch would pick up the vibe/essence of the Mirabal sisters and make them come to life.
Alvarez visited the cliff of the "car accident". I can picture how the trees and landscape would have spoken to me, whispering the tale of that horrific day. With the sunset, the spirits of those courageous women would emerge to speak to whoever would hear.
Before reading this novel, I didn't know much about the history of the Dominican Republic and las Mariposas. Alvarez has brought the story of revolutionary, yet ordinary women to the forefront. She has delivered it to the world where women's stories are often ignored. Ordinary only because they were wives, mothers, and daughters. Reminds us that we too can be extraordinary in our lives if we choose to open our minds, eyes, & hearts to the world around us.
Other interesting comments made on Monday:
Among illiterate women, the number of children averages to 10.
Teach her to read, and it drops to 4
Give her a job, and it drops to 2
Give her a job (equal in pay to a man), it drops to 1.5
She discussed how we need to be more aware of global issues. How will we feed the world's population? What about healthcare for those in 3rd or 4th world nations?
A compassionate world - we all want it, but why don't we strive for it. Is it really an impossible feat?
1 comment:
Sadly, Latin America has had its share of scumbags like Trujillo, Somoza, Batista, Pinochet. The list is long.
But for each one of them, there is those who believed in change, believed in justice, believed in themselves.
The Mirabal sisters will forever be remembered by those among us that believe that this can be a better world, if we all work hard, despite the excesses of people like Donald Trump or Paris Hilton.
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