Los Hermanas Mirabal Museo/ The Mirabal Sisters Museum

The Mirabal Museo/ Museum is Dedés way to maintain the memory of her 3 sisters. She greets many of the visitors to the museum personally. This museum is located in the second home of the Mirabal family in Conuco, Hermanas Mirabal (Salcedo). 

The grounds are immaculately kept. I love the butterflies displayed throughout the grounds. It is a beautiful garden and so tranquil.

Here are displays of much of the family's personal effects. Included in the collection is María Teresa's embroidery and Patria's teacup collection. In each of the girls rooms are many of their personal items, handkerchiefs, their sewing machines and each of their favorite dresses. I enjoyed seeing the kitchens they had, both indoor and outdoor with many of the original utensils used during that time.

The most powerful items in the collection are the artifacts of the sisters' murder: the shoes, handbags, and papers, as well as the long braid of hair which Dedé cut from María Teresa's head in the morgue. There is also a blood stained handkerchief that came from the murder scene. When I saw this it brought tears to my eyes as it is a very moving and touching display.

Located on the property is also a library, bookstore, and souvenir shop.

+click on the pictures to enlarge

On November 25, 2000 (the fortieth anniversary of the Mirabal sisters' assassination) the remains of the sisters were moved to the gravesite on the museum grounds. Here the three sisters are buried together along with Manolo, Minerva's husband. (picture on the left +click to enlarge)

Open for Guided tours Tuesday through Saturday. No pictures are permitted to be taken inside the museum.

Contact: 809- 577-2704

Directions: Km 1, Carretera Salcedo Tenares, Conuco, Hermanas Mirabal (Salcedo), Dominican Republic

The original Mirabal home is still located close to the museum in Ojo de Auga. Here the surviving sister, DeDé lived until her death on February 1, 2014. The gardens are beautiful and so well kept. It is a working farm where they grow orchids and Cacao.

Left -

top - The orchids and the entrance to the gardens as you enter the grounds.

middle - Walking around the main house to the back.

bottom - The calm patio at the back of the home.

Right -

top - The outdoor kitchen which is typical for country homes.

middle - The area used for cleaning and processing the raw Cacao, cocoa beans.

below - The drying area for the cacao (cocoa) grown on the farm.

In the park across the street from the original home in Ojo de Auga, Salcedo, where the sister DeDe lived is a small park called Plazoleta Hermanas Mirabal. Here is a unique monument that represents 3 butterflies (pictures on right +click to enlarge). You can also see the chassis of the jeep from which the ladies took their fateful ride. There is damage to both the front and rear of the vehicle because of the staged crash (picture on left +click to enlarge).

The Park Ecoparque de la Paz/ Peace Ecopark dedicated to the Mirabal sisters is a few feet across the street and down the road from the family home. Funding for this beautiful park is provided by the Fundación Hermanas Mirabal. The organization was originally chaired by Bélgica Mirabal (DeDé) now her son Jaime David Mirabal and Minú Tavarez Mirabal oversee the family history. The park has three paths representing the three sisters who died.

The park was designed by architects Michelle de la Cruz, Paloma Hernández y Oliver Guillén. It is a beautiful monument to these 3 patriotic ladies and their sister who remembered them with such grace and love. Thank you DeDé, your family and all who keep these memories so beautifully.

El Obelisco Macho del Malecón/ The Male Obelisk on the Malecon in Santo Domingo.

This 137 foot tall Obelisk that Trujillo had built was to bring honor and recognition to himself. Now it honors the women he had brutally murdered, the 3 Mirabal Sisters.

left - The obelisk was painted with "A Song to Liberty." by Elsa Nuñez. , was converted to honor the Mirabal sisters. It was painted with the three women he had murdered. It was unveiled on March 8, 1997 in honor of International Women's Day.

right - The oblisk was painted over with another design for a few years with a pair of shoes. It was repainted to be another monument dedicated to the Hermanas Mirabal.

bottom left - The 1938 view of the Obelisco during Trujillos rule.

bottom right - The Obelisco seen in the distance from the Zona Colonial.