backlog, July 2: arts and exploration

Mama Rocio, the local director of my exchange between Columbia University and the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, invited the four of us fellows on a day trip to the second largest Dominican city of Santiago. After leaving the capital at the crack of dawn, we arrived in Salcedo, for a tour of el Museo Hermanas Maribel. This museum, which is actually an estate, is something of a national landmark and stands in tribute to three women, regarded as national heroines, for their resistance to and opposition of, and ultimately their assassination by the dictator, Rafael Trujillo.

Daughters of an upper-class family, who felt the sting of Trujillo’s reign, the Mirabel sisters formed a group of opponents to the regime. Aside from being empowered and fierce women, an interesting and home-hitting aspect, for me, about these ladies was that they were known as Las Mariposas (or the butterflies) within their underground movement and were referred to as such within their political dealings…During the visit we had the good fortune to meet and speak with Dedé Mirabal, the one sister of four who was not assassinated in 1960. Her life’s work has been dedicated to preserving the memory and legacy of her sisters Minerva, Patria, and Teresa (for the record, I’m assuming that she was a major contributor to Julia Álvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies). For a woman of more than 80 years, her spirit was so uplifting and her attitude positively pervasive. I only hope to be able to live as strongly as she has… this said - visiting the estate, which is covered with both ornamental and living butterfly tributes - a month after the three-year anniversary of losing Katelyn, was particularly powerful for me. It was gorgeous.

Our day continued with a visit to the art and cultural center in the city of Santiago. I wont lie and tell you that I found the arts more exiting than the action – witnessing the rolling and preparation of fine Dominican cigars was the best.

The day of exploring Dominican arts and culture and history continued with a visit to the Candido Bido Museum in the town of Bonao. Bido is evidently a master artist in the DR and has started a great organization teaching creative arts to youth from all economic walks of life. The collection within the museum was surprisingly impressive and I found myself taken aback by the quality and sophistication of some pieces. In particular, check out the crazy furniture design, Los Angeles, by Julio Valentín.