Stories on Trujillo and his times

I was told that when he would pass by the towns on horse he would give out money and it was mandatory that you salute him. not too many good things ,my aunt told me about how if you had a problem with someone all they had to do was say you were speaking bad about trujillo ,they would come to your home , pick you up , and you would never be seen again.

My mother in law, who was quite a looker in her day, claims that her father had to keep her and her sisters under lock and key when one of Trujillo's brothers was on one of his regular visits to their town, Villa Trina in Moca province. He was notorious for having his way with the local maidens, it seems.

OTOH she also recounts the story of my husband's birth in 1959. He was very premature and owes his life to a "group of foreign doctors brought here by Trujillo" who were working in the hospital at the time.

Petan Trujillo

Chirimoya said:

My mother in law, who was quite a looker in her day, claims that her father had to keep her and her sisters under lock and key when one of Trujillo's brothers was on one of his regular visits to their town, Villa Trina in Moca province. He was notorious for having his way with the local maidens, it seems.

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Undoubtedly this was Petan, who 'owned' the town of Bonao, where he kept his own private army called 'Los Cocuyos' and he even went so far as to print his own currency, something which almost cost him his life since his brother considered liquidating him since he was threatening his own power.

I had a neighbor whom he courted and undoubtedly deflowered her but, irony of ironies, when she became engaged and decided to get married, guess who was the 'padrino', Petan himself. I remember being about 10 years old and hanging around the wedding and seeing him, machine gun in hand, with knee-high military boots and full uniform and a bunch of bodyguards. Those guys were something else and in some ways their legacy continues in the attitudes of some of those in power.

One of my earliest memories.......

.....is of people(my family) speaking in whispers when refering to anything having to do with El jefe., Back in '55, "El movimiento popular", was one of the few, if not the only, political party to try to compete with "El partido dominicano" which was DR's one and only party sanctioned by trujillne sunday afternoon,( I remember well because I had my 15cents for the movie and candies,gum, ect.), the MP party, held a rally to protest Ye ne se qua, and promptly having "los cacos blancos" goon squad, storm their locale and arrest, manhandle, a number of men and women. Eventually, some were found floating in the Ozama river, others were freed. The message wasn't lost in translation. The overt killings were part of what was considered normal and justifyable action in the name of "keeping the peace and upholding democracy" What a monster! We had stablity, but at what price!!