- published: 22 Sep 2014
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Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [rafaˈel leˈoniðas tɾuˈxiʝo]; October 24, 1891 – May 30, 1961), nicknamed El Jefe (Spanish: [el ˈxefe], The Chief or The Boss), ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He officially served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, otherwise ruling as an unelected military strongman. His 30 years in power, to Dominicans known as the Trujillo Era (Spanish: La Era de Trujillo), is considered one of the bloodiest ever in the Americas, as well as a time of a classic personality cult, when monuments to Trujillo were in abundance. It has been estimated that Trujillo's rule was responsible for the death of more than 50,000 people, including 20,000 to 30,000 in the infamous Parsley Massacre.
Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina was born in San Cristóbal to José Trujillo Valdez, a small retailer possibly of Canarian origin, and Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier, later known as Mamá Julia, who was of Afro-Dominican ancestry. Trujillo later suppressed knowledge of his mother's ancestry due to his policy of ethnic cleansing of Afro-Dominican and Haitian immigrants. He was born the third of eleven children. His siblings were Rosa María Julieta, Virgilio, José "Petan" Arismendy, Amable "Pipi" Romero, Aníbal Julio, Nieves.
Actors: Enrique Almirante (actor), Cecilia Domeyko (producer), Cecilia Domeyko (writer), Cecilia Domeyko (director), Jamie Lee Godfrey (editor), Roxana Montenegro (actress), Nayade Rivero (actress), Yavalys González (actress), Angie Del Riego (composer), Yaremis Pérez (actress),
Plot: "Code Name: Butterflies," is the first documentary to tell the powerful story of the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic. In the 1950s, Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal, who were known by their secret name of "Butterflies," created a secret resistance movement against Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, one of the most bloodthirsty tyrants the world has ever known. When the dictator had them assassinated making it seem like an accident, the country rose up against Trujillo and a group of conspirators who had been plotting his death but had not dared to move forward, assassinated him. The courage of the Mirabals, simple wives and mothers who helped bring freedom and democracy to their country, is legendary. Today, the Dominican Republic owes much to these incredible women who were willing to sacrifice everything and to fight for what they believed in. The day of Mirabal sisters' death, November 25, has been designated by the United Nations as the "Day of Non-Violence Against Women" in their honor. The documentary interweaves interviews with witnesses to the story, including surviving Mirabal family members, their co-revolutionaries, teachers, friends, and colleagues, with dramatic recreations and archival footage and b-roll.
Keywords: 1950s, abuse-of-power, assassination, code-name, conspiracy, control-by-fear, democracy, dictator, dominican-republic, freedom