Weekly Wednesday Question

Hey fellow readers, as the name implies it is the weekly wednesday question. So, for this week the question is:      
What is your favorite sci-fi series/book?

Shoot me a comment below, thanks guys (and gals)

The Mirabal Sisters a.k.a The Butterflies!

Here is Patria, eldest of the Butterflies.


Well looks like were going to continue on the train that is In The Time Of The Butterflies. So, this time we will be looking the four Mirabal sisters.
The first and oldest is Patria Mercedes Mirabal (February 27, 1924 – November 25, 1960) who was the most religious of the family and (for a short while) wanted to be a nun. This wanting ended when she met  her dream man by the name of Pedrito Gonzales and they tied knot. She was the last sister to join the revolution with her sisters (two of the others).
 

Here is Minerva 3rd oldest.



The third oldest (yeah that's right, I skipped one) and certainly the most passionate about the resistance was Maria Argentina Minerva Mirabal (March 12, 1926-November 25, 1960).  She was the first one to really see the corruptness of Trujillo after her child hood dream of being a lawyer was crushed by Trujillo. When he made physical advances on her and she pushed him away he made sure she would not get the proper licensingto be a lawyer.Eventually she did get married to Monolo Tavarez (who also was in the resistance). She was the first to actively join the revolution.


The youngest sister: Mate.

 The fourth and youngest was Maria Teresa Mirabal (she went by Mate) and lived from October 15, 1936-November 25, 1960. Being closest in age to Minerva (albeit a ten year gap) Mate looked up to her and followed in Minerva's footsteps (especially when it came to the resistance). Mate became the second Mirabal to get involved in the movement underground and married another member named Leandro Guzman (they were introduced by Minerva).


And here is Dede, the only Mirabal sister still living.

Let's not forget Dede (Bélgica Adela "Dedé" Mirabal-Reyes) the only one left alive (March 1, 1925 – present). She is the second oldest and is the only sister that was not actively part of the resistance. However, she did help and support her sisters she was just afraid of the consequences that might happen. Her worst fears were realised when all three of her sisters were assassinated on November 25, 1960. Which has been made The International Day For the Elimination of Violence Towards Women. Dede had alot of Input on the book In The Time of The Butterflies and today is a sort of legend in her own right.
Well there you go for the Mirabal Sisters. Next: We delve into the book!
For additional information on the Butterflies: www.therealdr.com, here is their wiki, and  even more great info!
My Sources: Google.com (bet you didn't see that one coming), the websites above (I know I know, who uses wikipedia?) and the book itself.       If you like, please subcribe. If you don't sorry for making it akward. 
                                               

Dominican Republic

Courtesy of Google: The sections of the D.R. and Haiti is on the left.

The book In The Time Of The Butterflies is placed in the Dominican Republic so here is a little background information on it: The Dominican Republic, located near the West Indies, occupies the Eastern two-thirds of the island Hispaniola (that it shares with its good friend Haiti) inside of the Greater Antilles. The Dominican Republic was first explored by Cristopher Columbus during his first voyage in December of 1492. When he got there he name it La Espanola (roughly translates to...The Espanola) and Diego, Cristopher's son, was its first governer (I know, shocking). From the 16th and 17th century many things happened such as: the first black slaves arrived on the island, all Spaniards were forcibly moved south-east of what is now San Juan De La Maguana , and the D.R. was ceded to France during the French Revolution in 1795. France soon lost this and in 1804 the Blacks beat out the French for their independence and on January 1, the Republic of Haiti was established on the Western third of Hispaniola. After this,the Dominicans fought Haiti for their own independence and on February 27, 1844, the Dominican Republic came to be. The book is takes place in the 1940's during the oppresive rule of the dictator Rafael Trujillo. It is about the Mirabal Sisters who were strongly opposed to Trujillo's rule. Next Stop: The Mirabal Sisters!
Here are a few pictures:


Three of four of the Mirabal Sisters or the Butterflies



The Flag of the Dominican Republic est.February 27,1844

My souces: Google.com (who doesnt use it?), Wikipedia.org (should I say more?), infoplease.com (I said please), and Hispaniola.com (self-explanatory much?).

Julia Alvarez

Here is Julia side-by-side with her book.

So, as I said earlier, I am reading In The Time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez and I wanted to do a little background on her and the book before I did the final book review. So here is her biography which will be the first in a series of posts about the book. Stay tuned:
Julia was born in New York City(not the Dominican Republic as many,to her frustration, believe). At three months of age she and her family moved back to the great ol' Dominican Republic and there her family(mostly her dad) got involved underground with an organization that was secretly trying to overthrow the dictatorship of Trujillo. Alvarez stayed in the D.R. until 1960(she was ten at the time) when they fled back to the U.S.A after the plans to overthrow the dictator failed. She went back to New York (figures) and went to school which was challenging for numerous reasons such as she looked different, barely knew english, and was made fun of (at a catholic school!). Now, if you were to ask her what made her a writer she would say that it was the "watershed" experience of getting to the U.S. and getting called spic (a derrogatory term for Spanish-Americans) that caused her to get more secluded and write more often. Today, after receiving her masters degree from Middlebury College in 1975, she has written everything from novels to poems to biographies and is considered one of the most influential Latina writers. She is now the current writer-in-residence at Middlebury College. Next post: to the Dominican Republic!      

Call Me!

Hey fellow readers, it is I once again. While I'll be doing reviews regularly I wanted to say that I do book requests. And here is my e-mail for any of you that want a specific book reviewed: sonofhurin777@hotmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon. Ciao

Hello

Greetings to all of readerdom. This is Gavin signing on for the first time and hopefully a predecessor to many more. I'll be getting some reviews up and running pretty soon right now I am reading In The Time Of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez(which is great). Looking forward to a great time, hope you enjoy!  (: