In the Time of the Butterflies

Background Information

History: Rafael Trujillo

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  • The story takes place in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, a period called the Trujillo Era. 
  • Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina (most known as just Trujillo) was born in 1891
  • Nicknamed by sympathizers as El Jefe (meaning "The Boss") and referred to as "the goat" by revolutionaries as a codename.
  • When he was the Dominican Republic's top military commander, Trujillo led a coup to overthrow President Vasquez
  • He ran for president after overthrowing Vasquez and won with 95% of the votes.
  • He thereafter made the Dominican Party the only legal political party in the country consolidating his power.
  • In 1936, he changed the capital's name from Santiago to Ciudad Trujillo (meaning Trujillo City)
  • Whoever was against the regime was killed or disappeared mysteriously.
  • On May 30, 1961, Trujillo was shot by Dominican conspirators

picture:  http://image1.findagrave.com/photos/2008/128/7647_121026127056.jpg

About the Author: Julia Alvarez

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  • Born in New York city on March 27, 1950
  • Spent her early years in the Dominican Republic
  • Returned to NYC when she was ten because her father got into trouble by getting involved in overthrowing Rafael Trujillo
  • 1971- earned her undergraduate degree at Middlebury College in Vermont
  • 1975- received her master's degree in creative writing at Syracuse University
  • 1984- became an English professor at Middlebury College; published several collections of poetry, including Homecoming, which appeared in 1984. 

Julia Alvarez's famous work #1- How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

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  • Published in 1991
  • A series of fifteen connected stories told in reverse order, telling the lives of four sisters and their parents
  • Received grants from the National Endowment and PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award






picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/Garc%C3%ADaGirls.jpg

Julia Alvarez's famous work #2- In the Time of Butterflies

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  • Published in 1994
  • Retells the story of the Mirable sisters from their young age to their death
  • Finalist for the National Book Critics Award in 1994








picture: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41gq0y3zF4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg