La Casa Museo Hermanas Mirabal / The Mirabal Sisters House Museum
The Hermanas Mirabal Museum is located in the second home of the Mirabal family in Conuco, Hermanas Mirabal (Salcedo). It is such a beautiful way to remember the 3 sisters who gave their life for the country they loved and the fourth sister who worked to preserve their memories.
The Mirabal Sisters House Museum | Location | Plazoleta Hermanas Mirabal and Ecoparque de la Paz | El Obelisco Macho | The story of the Sisters known as the Mariposas
The Mirabal Museum is Dedés way to maintain the memory of her 3 sisters before she passed in 2014. Dedé (Bélgica Adela) Mirabal-Reyes used to greet many of the visitors to the museum personally. She is so missed but her family is carrying on the museum and the tradition. Sharing with the world the wonderful stories of the Mirabal Sisters.
The grounds are immaculately kept. I love the butterflies, representing their secret group called
Las Mariposas
, displayed throughout the grounds. It is a beautiful garden and so tranquil.
Museums Displays
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. The blood stained handkerchief that came from the murder scene is heartbreaking. 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.
Location
The Mirabal Sisters Museum/ Museo de las Hermanas Mirabal
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
November 25
On November 25, 2000 (the fortieth anniversary of the Mirabal sisters’ assassination) the remains of the sisters were moved to the grave site on the museum grounds. Here the three sisters are buried together along with Manolo, Minerva’s husband. Dedé is buried in the original family vault, where years before the remains of his three sisters and Manolo Tavarez rested, located at Cementerio Viejo, Ojo de Agua.
The United Nations General Assembly designated November 25, the day the sisters were killed, as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The Original Home
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.
Plazoleta Hermanas Mirabal and Ecoparque de la Paz/ Peace Ecopark and Plazoleta Hermanas Mirabal
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. 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.
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 to the Mirabal family and all who keep these memories so beautifully.
El Obelisco Macho del Malecón / The Male Obelisk on the Malecon in Santo Domingo.
The 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.
The obelisk was painted with “A Song to Liberty” by Elsa Nuñez. It was converted to honor the Mirabal sisters, painted with the three women Trujillo had murdered. It was unveiled on March 8, 1997 in honor of International Women’s Day.
