LEAVING THE COCOON

After time had passed without conflicts between the Mirabal family and the Trujillo regime, the sisters were able to lead somwhat normal lives and begin relationships. The ever-religious Patria abandoned ideas of becoming a nun to marry Pedro Gonzalez, a farmer, on February 24, 1941. She abandoned her studies to go live with him on a plot of land in Conuco. One year when Minerva was in Jarabacoa helping her uncle run his pharmacy, she met up with Manuel Tavarez (or Manolo as he was often called). Minerva and Manolo had much in common; both were ardently anti-Trujillo and both desired liberty and social change. Minerva was by now a well-known anti-trujillista, and Manolo had acquaintances in the Popular Socialist Party. Minerva and Manolo married on November 20, 1955. Meanwhile the youngest sister Maria Teresa was developing a relationship with Leandro Guzmán, an engineer and anti-trujillista. The pair married on February 14, 1958.