Dominican Republic

Secret Police of the Dominican Republic 1960s The secret police have been watching my house for weeks now. They just sit and wait in their black shiny cars. But what are they waiting for? I just don't know. The secret police is an organization that kills, tortures, seeks revenge, spies, and follows every command of their leader. The secret police was lead by Johnny Abbes, who was a fan of violence and murder. He was the chief planner of all the assassinations which, were many. The SIM,…

what I expected. I believed that I was going to be the one person to go down and “change” the people. This idea is far from reality, but I realize that you can make a difference in some people’s lives. I have taken a few mission trips to the Dominican Republic, where I have built relationships with the people down there. We have the power to teach people about a wealth of knowledge that lies between the pages of the Bible. Each year I strive to improve my influence, so I had to ask myself, “how…

Were Free”, has personally experienced what the characters in her book have encountered. Alvarez, having had to grow up in the Dominican Republic, was closely involved in the underground works to relinquish the dictator, Trujillo. The story is a reputable representation of the Hispanic culture. Because Alvarez has firsthand knowledge of the conflict in the Dominican Republic, she has merit to compose a book that brings life to the culture. In order to fully understand the culture she describes,…

Before We Were Free, written by Julia Alvarez is a historical fiction book based on a young girl who goes by the name Anita. Anita and her family live in the Dominican Republic on a compound along with her distant relatives. As the months go by, Anita starts to notice that her relatives are leaving the compound one by one except for her family. Papi, Anita's dad, starts attending secret meetings and readers later discover that he was planning to assassinate Rafael Trujillo, the dictator of the…

“In the Time of the Butterflies” is a historical novel by Julia Alvarez, relating an account of the Mirabal sisters during the time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Maria Teresa is the youngest of the four Mirabal sisters. She is very superficial and materialistic in the beginning of the story, but she becomes a resilient, strong-willed revolutionary hero. Further, Maria Teresa is willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her family’s right for a liberal nation. Maria…

As I looked out at the gorgeous light blue Caribbean Sea I saw a large white boat in the distance with a rope connected to a parachute sailing over it with multiple people in the boat. My family and I were standing on the pure white Dominican Republic sand waiting for our turn to take the dinghy out and meet the parasail boat for our first experience parasailing ever. The sky was as clear and blue as could be, with absolutely no clouds and the sun beaming on each and every one of the vacationers…

started with one sister, and her name is Minerva Mirabal. Minerva was the kind of girl who wanted to do good for others, in the novel and the history books. She encouraged people to join the underground to end the regime that transpired in the Dominican Republic. In the novel, she finds out that Trujillo is an atrocious man from her friend Sinita. This event actually occurred her to bring out her inner rebellion and got to the action. When Minerva attends the Discovery Dance, she slaps Trujillo…

Julia Alvarez uses her poetic voice to explain, yet also escape, her multicultural world with a vocalized desire for freedom from oppression both in her home country and her home itself. Born in New York on March 27, 1950, Alvarez moved to the Dominican Republic as an infant, and moved back to the U.S. in 1960 at the age of ten. Her family sought asylum in the U.S. due to the discovery of her father’s rebellious plot…

Today, when the country of Dominican Republic comes to mind, some ideas that are commonly associated with the country consist of vibrancy, festiveness, beaches, and exoticism. What many do not realize is that the Dominican Republic was once a disastrous place to live in. In Before We Were Free, Julia Alvarez explores this world and the harsh circumstances that the characters deal with. It is a captivating piece of historical fiction in which the author focuses on the three themes of freedom,…

Black Dominicans will continue to deploy the musical practices of bachata as a mode of self-expression—both on the island and abroad—in order to claim a space in the Dominican national imaginary. The power of bachata, then, lays in its ability to provide Black Dominicans with a chance to right the wrongs of the island’s colonial legacy and claim their rightful spot in its history. The production…