Province · Samaná e Nordeste

Hermanas Mirabal

Hermanas Mirabal is the small province of Salcedo in the Cibao, named after the three sisters killed in 1960 for opposing Trujillo’s dictatorship: their house-museum, murals and a landscape of cacao and coffee.

In the photo: Mausoleum in the garden of the Casa Museo Hermanas Mirabal

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

The province

Get to know Hermanas Mirabal

Hermanas Mirabal is one of the country’s smallest provinces, in the Cibao valley between Moca and San Francisco de Macorís. It was called Salcedo, like its capital, and in 2007 was renamed Hermanas Mirabal after sisters Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal, who were born in the region, opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo and were murdered on 25 November 1960.

The sisters’ deaths moved the nation and became an international symbol: the date, 25 November, was adopted by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The three are known as Las Mariposas (the Butterflies).

In Ojo de Agua, near Salcedo, is the Casa Museo Hermanas Mirabal, the last house where the sisters lived, with furniture, clothing, personal items and the garden where they are buried. In Salcedo, colorful murals on the city’s walls tell their story and those of other regional figures.

The landscape is rolling hills of cacao, coffee and banana at the foot of the Cordillera Septentrional. With no cities in the guide, the province is usually visited on a half-day trip from Santiago or from Moca.

When to go

It can be visited year-round, with less rain from December to April. On 25 November, the anniversary of the sisters’ deaths, there are tributes and events at the house-museum and in Salcedo. The region is humid, with afternoon showers from May to November.

Getting there

Salcedo is about 45 minutes from Santiago, via Moca, and about two and a half hours from Santo Domingo via the Duarte highway. There are buses and public cars from Santiago and from San Francisco de Macorís, and Cibao airport (STI) is less than an hour away.

Your questions

Frequently asked questions about Hermanas Mirabal

Who were the Mirabal sisters?

Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal, who opposed Trujillo’s dictatorship and were murdered on 25 November 1960. The date became the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

What is in the Casa Museo Hermanas Mirabal?

The sisters’ last house, with furniture, clothing and personal items, and the garden where they are buried, in Ojo de Agua near Salcedo.

Can Hermanas Mirabal be visited from Santiago?

Yes, Salcedo is about 45 minutes away; a visit to the house-museum and the murals fits into a half day.

Why did the province change its name?

It was called Salcedo and was renamed Hermanas Mirabal in 2007 in honor of the sisters born in the region.

Tap a province to see its destinations. Limites: Oficina Nacional de Estadística / OCHA-HDX / geoBoundaries (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Adaptação do Cidade Turismo.