Unwinding in Havana's Necropolis - Notes from a Long, Hot Summer

Once in a while, I visit the Necropolis de Cristobal Colón (aka Christopher Columbus, in English) just to get away from the daily grind. Named after the famed Genoese explorer who discovered Cuba in 1492, this ageing Havana cemetery reflects the Cuban society at large – traces of a bygone splendor stoically presenting a regal front amid the decay and disrepair around it.

In the midst of stately tombs styled as miniature Greco-Roman temples, Egyptian pyramids, Medieval castles, Renaissance and Art Deco pantheons adorned with angels and other adornments, one can sense the feeling of forlorn in the air, thus, paying the approximately US$5 entrance fee for extranjeros feels more like you are providing an endowment, knowing that it will be used for the upkeep of Havana’s City of the Dead. Bussed-in tourists, who would normally be disdained by grieving family members in other parts of the world, are most welcome as their money help preserve the cemetery. It is not uncommon to see donation boxes left behind by relatives of the dead placed on top of the graves to plead for alms from foreigners to be used for the upkeep of the tombs.

Other people find my habit of visiting cemeteries a bit morbid. I have however found it relaxing and at the same time fascinating to walk in the peace and quiet of the Campo Santo, as we call it in my language, while contemplating about life in general. Whenever I visit other cities, I always find time to visit the cemeteries. I have seen the catacombs of Paris, the martial orderliness of Arlington Cemetery, the serenity of colonial cemeteries of Massachusetts, among a few, all of which strangely fascinated me. I just find it relaxing to stare at the headstones, especially the old and historic ones, and contemplate about the life stories of those who are interred.

For me, recognizing a familiar name feels like reuniting with an old friend. I feel intrigued when I am able to locate the tomb of somebody I had read about. It is like being able to greet an old friend in person. In my few travels, I have visited the tombs of, among others, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, JFK and Jackie Kennedy, William Howard Taft, General Arthur MacArthur, General Omar Bradley, Diego Colón, Che Guevara, Cuba’s national hero José Marti and few other notables. I guess it is my own way of paying homage to them.

Here at the Colon Cemetery, one can pay respects to a few of its illustrious denizens such as, among others, Revolutionary War Heroes Calixto García and Máximo Gomez, broadcaster Eduardo Chibás (whose protest-suicide against Batista influenced Fidel Castro to raise up arms), chess champion José Raúl Capablanca, former Cuban presidents, old nobles and counts, and eminent personalities of Cuban Arts, Sports and Literature.

The cemetery also has grand communal burial chapels or mausoleums of various societies and groups as eclectic as, among others, the Galician Society, the Asturian Society, the Grand Masonic Lodge, Havana Tennis Club, Havana Transportation Society, Veterans of the Revolution, Armed Forces personnel, and, strangely, American Legion (I cannot fathom why the Mausoleum for the Revolutionary Armed Forces was oddly placed in front of that of the veterans of the American Legion).

The Mausoleums for the various Spanish Societies are especially very grand and are decorated with precious artwork, sculptures and murals, reflecting their once-vaunted status in the Cuban society in olden times. They also stretch was below the surface as many of these society tombs are still in use and its members continue to be interred in the subterranean vaults.

Two of the tombs I recommend most are those of Jeanette Ryder and Juana Martin de Martin. They stand out not because of their prominent place in history, although they could probably pass the fame test as Doña Martin’s tomb is alongside famous composer Hubert de Blanck and Ryder was the founder of Bando de Piedad in Cuba. They are however more famous for the eccentricity of their tombs.

At the foot of Ryder’s tomb lies the burial site of her beloved pet dog, Rinti. According to Havana old-timers, Rinti curled up at the foot of Ryder’s tomb after she was buried. The dog refused to eat and drink until it died. Rinti was then buried at the feet of Ryder’s grave along with the inscription: Fiel hasta despues de muerta (loyalty even after death). It is a beautiful homage to the love that bids a dog and its master. Should I decide to have a pet dog in the future, I will name it after Rinti.

Doña Juana’s tomb stands out because one can see a huge block of domino tile on top of her crypt. Story has it that Doña Juana, who was an avid domino player, as all Cubans are, died of heart attack while playing domino when she couldn’t find the tile which could have won her the game. She was grasping the winning double-three tile on her hand all the time. Her children, Luisa and Antonio, as a tribute, decided to place a large marble domino tile depicting doble tres on top of their mother’s grave. Were the children playing a prank on their mother, perhaps? Or, it could be that knowing that their mother loved to play dominoes to death (pun intended), it may have been their wish that she could play the game even in the afterlife.

I am sure there are more interesting bits and pieces of details that are waiting to be unearthed at the cemetery (figuratively as I don’t intend to be a grave robber). Perhaps during my next visit I will search for the tomb of ill-fated American adventurer William Morgan, a former US marine who fought as a volunteer during the 1959 revolution. He was one of two foreigners (Che Guevara was the other) who rose to rank of comandante in the rebel army. Guevara, of course, became a legendary contemporary figure while Morgan has been left behind in the dustbin of history. He was executed on the orders of his former comrade Fidel when he opposed Cuba’s turn to Communism. It is said that he is buried in a non-descript crypt in Colon Cemetery.

I should also visit the most visited tomb in the cemetery which is that of the La Milagrosa (aka Amelia Goyri), who died of child birth at the age of 21 years old after forsaking her family’s fortune to marry someone her family did not approve of. Today, many Cuban pilgrims say that their wishes were granted after visiting her tomb. Not being as religious as the others, I, however, was not initially that keen on finding it so I cannot confirm any of the claims.