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Abelard Luis Cabral was Beli’s father and the man whose misfortune initiated the fukú curse that persisted through the next two generations of his family. Abelard enjoyed a respectable position in Dominican society. After receiving his medical training in Mexico, he returned to the Dominican Republic and married a skilled nurse practitioner with whom he opened a well-regarded practice. Abelard had an extraordinary intellect. He could read in several languages, and he frequently hosted animated all-night salons in his home. Unlike many other Dominican intellectuals of the time, however, Abelard ignored politics. He preferred to retire to his study rather than worry about the horrific crimes committed by Trujillo and his cronies. But politics encroached on Abelard’s life when Trujillo expressed interest in his eldest daughter. Jacquelyn had inherited her mother’s beauty, and Abelard feared that Trujillo would rape her. Abelard managed to hide Jacquelyn from Trujillo, but one day, the Secret Police arrested him for making a joke that allegedly insulted the dictator. Not long after his arrest, Abelard’s wife killed herself, and his eldest two daughters died under mysterious circumstances. According to Yunior’s account, these tragic events marked Abelard’s “Fall” and initiated the Cabral family curse.

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