Star+ subscribers can now enjoy “The Scream of the Butterflies,” the streaming service’s new exclusive series set in the key of historical drama and inspired by true events, depicting the life of Minerva Mirabal (Sandy Hernández), the renowned activist confronted the tyrannical regime of dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (Luis Alberto García) in the Dominican Republic and has become a symbol of the global fight against gender-based violence.
Made entirely in Latin America and premiered on March 8th, International Women’s Day. the new production sheds light on the heroic life and tragic death of Minerva Mirabal, murdered along with two of her three sisters by the Trujillo tyranny on November 25, 1960.
In their resistance movement, the iconic activist and her sisters were nicknamed “the butterflies”, immortalizing their tireless struggle and opposition to the regime. 39 years after the death of the Mirabals, the UN declared November 25 as “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women” to commemorate their activism.
In “The Scream of the Butterflies” Star+ tells This story exposes an issue relevant to the region and seeks to start new conversations in the pursuit of more egalitarian, respectful and inclusive societies.
the story of a woman
The creative team behind The Scream of the Butterflies found the story of an entire continent in the life story of Minerva Mirabal.
In selecting this story and fictionally exploring the place women occupied during the Trujillo regime, the filmmakers identified a powerful narrative device to tell a story of gender-based violence across Latin America, infused with cultural patterns and related political events is.
Made visible as never before by the UN proclamation, Minerva became a symbol and a reference figure.
“Through this visibility of the case of the Mirabal sisters, Latin American women committed to gender are beginning to find an icon, a reference, someone close to them, who belongs to the same continent, who spoke the same language, who suffered the same thing has problems … because Dictatorships, tyrannies and the mistreatment of women are characteristic of all of Latin America.” comments the Argentinean Juan Pablo Buscarini, creator of the work.
From her incipient disagreement with the regime to her solidification as the leader of a resistance movement against the Trujillo dictatorship, Minerva walked a path of violence, injustice, and justification marked by her deep conviction and admirable courage.
More than 60 years after his tragic death, the causes he fought for are still relevant and very much present in societal conversations, making The Scream of the Butterflies a source of reflection and a powerful trigger for new discussions in pursuit change makes.
honor the facts
Inspired by real events to tell the story of the butterflies, the series’ filmmakers dove from the start with an in-depth investigation of the events unfolding in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo dictatorship and the life of Minerva Mirabal. In turn, they worked on a comprehensive period reconstruction to achieve authenticity in each episode.
“The focus is on absolute historical respect for the characters and the facts. This is the basic requirement for the representation to be valuable and genuine,” says Buscarini.
He then adds, “However, as a series that needs to capture the interest of a current audience, it’s also important to play smart with facts. In other words, manage within the first consideration, ie historical respect and truthfulness, but at the same time traverse a series of stories and signs that intersect, that have rhythm, with the necessary intrigue to ensure the result is intelligent and captivating for today’s audience”.
The team developed a true story spanning 13 episodes that will entertain, shock and move viewers as they reflect on the atrocities that took place in this Caribbean nation during thirty years of Trujillo’s tyranny.
Arantxa: Narrating tyranny from within
In El grito de las mariposas, the characters based on real people – from the Mirabal sisters to Rafael Trujillo and his brother “Petán” (Héctor Noas) – are joined by a handful of fictional characters, including Arantxa Oyamburu (Susana Abaitua ).
The story follows the friendship between Minerva and Arantxa, who met as children on the Mirabal farm when Arantxa moved to the Dominican Republic with her father from her native Spain. As an adult, the young Spaniard settles in the capital, where her life takes the opposite path to that of her friend. There he meets “Petan” Trujillo, boss of the Dominican radio station and the regime’s nightclub, and then his brother, the country’s president, who facilitate his entry into show business.
Unlike Minerva – who fiercely opposes Trujillo and suffers his persecution alongside her family but without playing the dictator’s game – the creation of the character of Arantxa was the narrative tool that allowed the filmmakers to fully immerse themselves in the intimacy of gender-based violence of the regime and approach the perversity of Trujillo.
“This series is about violence against women in a country where appalling violence has been perpetrated at all levels. Arantxa allows us to show this violence in an everyday setting, far from the revolutionary environment or political struggle,” explains Rodríguez, adding: “Our story shows a group of women who are tortured because they don’t think like the regime , but also beat a woman in the most cruel way because she is sleeping with a man. Arantxa has that value and complements the story.”
On tour through Dominican history, The team behind the series took a particular interest in Spanish immigration to the island, driven from their country of origin by the Civil War and Franco. “Although she is a fictional character, the character of Arantxa is the union of patterns and a sum of real characters that existed and that we find in books live in her,” says Buscarini.
Thus, through the history of Arantxa, the story of thousands of women who had to endure the way of life imposed by Trujillismo is told.
A scream that echoes
With a tragic but inspiring story, The Scream of the Butterflies raises its voice with a timely and urgent message that, according to Buscarini, responds to three essential conditions: the series’ honesty and narrative power, its global reach, and a social moment suited to the recording and reproducing history.
“In today’s world of streaming, the possibility of real and high-quality audiovisual content that pushes boundaries through platforms like Star+ makes us dream. That society reflects our history is an illusion from the beginning of the project,” confesses the showrunner, who also ensures that the conditions for this reverberation are in place:
“Fortunately, in recent decades, attention to the issue of gender-based violence has been high on the agenda of interest in education systems and in policy debates. The conditions are in place for society to be able to react and change its perspective on the issue,” he affirms. sukhini.