By Sandra Jardine
Julia Alvarez distinguished writer, storyteller and poet is prophetic in her approach to life, overcoming war, loss and creating literary material that feeds her public audience. She depicts with warmth and candor an understanding of the Dominican people, in a time of critical challenge where her country could have been annihilated by their nefarious officials because of the misuse of power and greed. In her portrayal of women in the Dominican Republic, she uses her own family first as the examples of women throughout Latin history where abuse, oppression both politically and socially thwarted people, but especially women from moving forward such as in her book In the Time of the Butterflies about the assassination of the Mirabal Sisters.
Even after the war when the dictators were removed progress was not seen automatically. A slow methodical movement of three steps back and one step forward over shadowed the country for quite sometime!
She heralds as a heroine in her own courageous story! Her life paves a pathway as many women have done who have gone before and have surmounted horrendous circumstances and atrocities. She like many, leave us with almost an epitaph as a reminder: that life is sacred, must be preserved and fought for the right of human dignity for all people!
Especially for Women in Buffalo, New York 