Colon Cemetery
The mysterious and worn Cementerio de Cristobal Colon (Colon Cemetery) was named after the infamous Christopher Columbus by Spanish architect, Loira, in 1876, who was also it's first occupant. It lies in the Vedado barrio of Havana, and is only open from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday with free admission (imagine having to pay to see your deceased family?). It has over 120 acres of land, and organizes its 'residents' according to their social rank and economic status, as many other cemeteries are. It is made to be like a mini-city, in which the rich and powerful lie in the more prominent parts of the cemetery and the lower class individuals lies in the outskirts. It holds over 800,000 graves, and it is considered a premium spot to reside in the afterlife, so many remains are removed after three years and packed up in storage (so much for 'final' resting place)!!
Despite its residents being removed every few years to make room for more bodies, it looks to have a very peaceful appearance. The all-white or cream elaborate monuments make it a little eerie at night (probably why it closes at 5pm), but during the day it is quite a beautiful sight. There is over 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults with 19th and 20th century artists drawing inspiration from the renaissance and neoclassical art to develop intricate and unique monuments. Many of these memorials are assigned to honor special people, like a huge 75-foot tall monument for firefighters who died in 1890, a white king chess piece shaped monument for a famous chess player, and a double-three domino shaped one for a famous domino player. Even Ibrahim Ferrer (of the Buena Vista Social Club) is buried here.
It is interesting to see that some of the monuments, like the rest of Havana, are crumbling and slowly deteriorating because of lack of maintenance due to the fact that many of their family members either in exile due to the Revolution of 1959. This just goes to show that even the deceased are impacted by the Castro regime.
Watch this video for a tour of the cemetery!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTWyKT5WvnE
With all this being said, do you find that cemeteries are creepy? Or that they are peaceful?
Do you think that Cuban culture on the deceased is abnormal or is it expected?
Do you think it is wrong for someone's remains to be removed and put into storage after originally being put to rest in a plot of land?
I think the way that Cuban cemeteries are above ground, with so many decorations, that they appear more peaceful than creepy. I was surprised by how this cemetery is organized based on economic status, but it makes sense when I think about it because only those with money would be able to afford large and elaborate head stones. I think ethically it feels wrong to take someone's remains out of ground and put them in storage, but I think it may be unavoidable. This is kind of a morbid thought, but people will always be dying so it makes sense that they would run out of room and have to be moved. Overall, I really like how this cemetery is set up. It seems more appealing to visit your loved ones here than it does in the cemeteries we see in the US.
ReplyDeleteI think that this cemetery is is in's own category in that it is more beautiful than creepy- you can see with the white stone and the architecture that it has a certain artistic art to it. It seems like a quiet and peaceful place. I have to admit the idea of removing bodies does make it more creepy to me, but I understand why Cuba does this. On an island, especially in a city on an island, there can only be so much room, so it makes sense. I wonder how people feel about this in Cuba. Perhaps they wouldn't say anything because of the Castros, but here, if people moved bodies families and friends would probably very vocal in how upsetting it was. When the grandmother dies in Viva Cuba, the little girl is so upset- I can't imagine her being too okay with moving her grandmother from her resting place. Speaking of: The picture of this cemetery reminds me of the one in Viva Cuba- do you think it's the same one?
ReplyDeleteHey Emely, Personally, I do you think it is wrong for someone's remains to be removed and put into storage after originally being put to rest in a plot of land because a cemetery is a place where the remains of dead people are to be buried. In fact, the word cemetery comes from Greek and it means “sleeping place" which implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and should not be used for temporary purposes. I think it is inhumane for them to remove peoples bodies after a while because truthfully their family members may want to visit them and they can because they take people's stones out and put them in storage which is not right.
ReplyDeleteHi Emely,
ReplyDeleteThis cemetery looks so elegant! I wouldn't mind being buried here lol. I think the cemetery looks very peaceful and looks like a great resting spot. I like it is a little abnormal that they lift the dead from their resting spots and place them somewhere else to make more room. I feel like here in the United States we would never dream of doing something like that. I do think it's wrong that the deceased ones are removed from their final resting place. I don't think anyone has the right to move someone after they're dead because that person has no say since they are dead! If that's where they want to be buried then they have the right to stay there in my opinion. Overall, I think this is a cool place to visit because it is just another part of Cuban history and culture.