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Who were Las Mariposas, and why were they murdered? - Lisa Krause

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For over 30 years, thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered under Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Three sisters would go on to lead an underground revolution. But while their courage inspired many, it threatened the man in power, and their lives would come to a tragic early end. Who were these brave women? Lisa Krause tells the story of Las Mariposas.

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Additional Resources for you to Explore

While the Mirabal Sisters are today well-known in the Dominican Republic, it took several decades for their memory to be celebrated nationally and internationally. The Mirabal family, especially their mother Chea and their surviving sister Dedé, made sure to maintain the legacy of the sisters by preserving their personal belongings in their last home and opening it to the public  in 1994. In addition, the Mirabal Sisters inspired many artists. Likely, the most famous is Julia Alvarez and her novel In the Time of the Butterflies.

To learn more about the Trujillo regime, watch this TED-Ed Lesson about the 1937 Haitian Massacre.

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Meet The Creators

Educator
Lisa Krause
Director
Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
Narrator
Safia Elhillo
Music
Cem Misirlioglu, Sergio Sayeg
Director of Production
Gerta Xhelo
Editorial Director
Alex Rosenthal
Producer
Bethany Cutmore-Scott
Script Editor
Alex Gendler
Script Producer
Cella Wright
Fact-Checker
Eden Girma

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