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Early Life in Dominican Republic

Early Life in Dominican Republic. Born March 27, 1951 in the U.S. First 10 years of her life in the Dominican Republic Wealthy family Lived with extended family: grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Rafael Trujillo. Rafael Trujillo.

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Early Life in Dominican Republic

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  1. Early Life in Dominican Republic

  2. Born March 27, 1951 in the U.S. • First 10 years of her life in the Dominican Republic • Wealthy family • Lived with extended family: grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

  3. Rafael Trujillo

  4. Rafael Trujillo • Trujillo was a cruel and oppressive dictator in the DR for 31 years (1930-1961) • Arrested and murdered people who tried to go against him. • Alvarez’s father was involved in a failed plot to overthrow Trujillo • Plot was discovered and he was targeted. • Some Americans who had been plotting with him helped him get a job as a heart surgeon in the U.S. • Surprisingly, Trujillo’s government allowed their family to leave DR.

  5. Emigration/Immigration

  6. Emigration/Immigration • The Alvarez family had a difficult time adjusting to American customs and the English language. • Emigrated from DR to the U.S. in the 1960s. “I lost almost everything: a homeland, a language, family connections, a way of understanding, a warmth.” -Julia Alvarez

  7. Immigration and Language

  8. Especially, speaking a language other than English was considered “Un-American” • Alvarez quickly learned English and lost much of her Spanish • Today, she speaks Spanish only with an American accent “I say what happened to me is that we left the Dominican Republic and I landed not in the U.S., but in English.” -Julia Alvarez

  9. Difficulties of Assimilation

  10. Teased by peers because of her heritage and accent. • She learned English much quicker than her parents • Started to move away from the strict rules about behavior for girls in her culture. • Interested in the differences between the two cultures • in the DR, she focused on the wealth gap between rich and poor and the different standards for men and women.

  11. Education

  12. Graduated from high school in 1967 • Graduate from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1971 • Masters degree in creative writing from Syracuse University in 1975

  13. How the García Girls Lost Their Accent

  14. Divided into 3 sections that work backwards (chronologically): I: 1989-1972 II: 1970-1960 III: 1960-1956 • Alvarez provides a family tree in the front(Try to detect the humor in it!) • The García girls: Carla, Sandra (Sandi), Yolanda (Yo, Yo Yo, Joe), Sofía (Fifi).

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