Personal life Rafael Trujillo

postage stamps honoring family members

trujillo , family amassed enormous wealth. acquired cattle lands on grand scale, , went meat , milk production, operations evolved monopolies. salt, sugar, tobacco, lumber, , lottery other industries or family members dominated. family members received positions within government , army, including 1 of trujillo s sons made colonel in dominican army when 4 years old. 2 of trujillo s brothers, héctor , josé arismendy, held positions in government. josé arismendy trujillo oversaw creation of main radio station, la voz dominicana, , later television station, fourth in caribbean.

by 1937 trujillo s annual income $1.5 million ($25 million in 2016); @ time of death state took on 111 trujillo-owned companies. love of fine , ostentatious clothing displayed in elaborate uniforms , suits, of collected 2 thousand. fond of neckties, amassed collection of on ten thousand. trujillo doused himself perfume , liked gossip. sexual appetite rapacious, , preferred mulatto women full bodies, later tending rape young women. many sought favors procured women him, , later, had official on palace staff organize sessions. encounters typically lasted 1 or 2 sessions, kept favorites longer terms. if women resisted, trujillo pressured families way.

trujillo second wife bienvenida in 1934.

trujillo married 3 times , kept other women mistresses. on 13 august 1913, trujillo married aminta ledesma lachapelle. on 30 march 1927, trujillo married bienvenida ricardo martínez, girl monte cristi , daughter of buenaventura ricardo heureaux. year later met maría de los angeles martínez alba la españolita , , had affair her. divorced bienvenida in 1935 , married martínez. year later had daughter bienvenida, named odette trujillo ricardo.

trujillo s 3 children maría martínez rafael leónidas ramfis, born on 5 june 1929, maría de los Ángeles del sagrado corazón de jesús (angelita), born in paris on 10 june 1939, , leónidas rhadamés, born on 1 december 1942. ramfis , rhadamés named after characters in giuseppe verdi s opera aida.

in 1937, trujillo met lina lovatón pittaluga, upper-class debutante whom had 2 children, yolanda in 1939, , rafael, born on 20 june 1943.

in spite of trujillo s indifference game of baseball, dictator invited many black american players dominican republic, received pay playing on first-class, un-segregated teams. great negro league star satchel paige pitched los dragones of ciudad trujillo, team organized trujillo. paige later claimed, jokingly, guards positioned firing squad encourage him pitch well. los dragones won 1937 dominican championship @ estadio trujillo in ciudad trujillo.

trujillo energetic , fit. quite healthy, suffered chronic lower urinary infections and, later, prostate problems. in 1934, dr. georges marion called paris perform 3 urologic procedures on trujillo.

over time trujillo acquired numerous homes. favorite casa caobas, on estancia fundacion near san cristóbal. used estancia ramfis (which, after 1953, became foreign office), estancia rhadames, , home @ playa de najayo. less stayed @ places owned in santiago de los caballeros, constanza, la cumbre, san josé de las matas, , elsewhere. maintained penthouse @ embajador hotel in capital.

while trujillo nominally roman catholic, devotion limited perfunctory role in public affairs; placed faith in local folk religion.

he popularly known el jefe ( chief ) or el benefactor ( benefactor ), privately referred chapitas ( bottlecaps ) because of indiscriminate wearing of medals. dominican children emulated trujillo constructing toy medals bottle caps. known el chivo ( goat ).

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