In the course of my “worldly” tours, nothing has caught my attention more than visits to our very own series of cemeteries in Metro Manila – the Paco Park, a small but romantic cemetery which has gone a full lifecycle; the columbary of San Agustin in Intramuros; The American Cemetery at tony Forbes Park in Makati and the Chinese Cemetery that crosses through the North and La Loma Cemetery in the northeastern part of Manila. Paco park was popularly known as the burial grounds of the wealthy neighborhood of old Manila, has now become a popular venue for garden weddings and receptions.
Then there is the columbary of the San Agustin Church where remains of famous Spanish governor generals including Juan Miguel de Legazpi plus a host of others and several other well known Spanish families – Zobels, Ayalas and Sorianos are all neatly buried in one side wall of this church.
San Agustin Church
Inside San Agustin Church
But having seen many crypts and mausoleums all over the world, our own burial grounds have hundreds of interesting stories inside them. Majority of these vast manicured properties are so steeped in lore that some of these cemeteries have their own “unofficial historians.”
For instance, the Chinese Cemetery. (Take the LRT Train from Baclaran and get off at the Doroteo Jose station. Take a tricycle and ask to be dropped off at the north gate) It’s a cemetery with star power. Among those buried here are rich Chinese patriarchs and matriarchs. Founded in the 1850s by Lim Ong and Tan Quien Sien, also known by their Christian name, Carlos Palanca, the 54 hectare Chinese cemetery contains graves that tell of wealth and social status of several generations of deceased. Here, one can see mausoleums as high as two stories, resembling temples, pagodas and budhas – everything you can imagine that’s typical Chinese. However, as you examine the area closer, especially the bigger crypts from prominent families, there are living persons maintaining these places complete with electricity, air condition, bathroom facilities even showers to cool off the heat.
Chinese Cemetery
The state of the Chinese cemetery reflects how the Chinese are in the Philippines. The streets are well paved, and well lit. It seems airier and more spacious somehow commented Teddy, my traveling companion and photographer. If you’re Chinese, you can light your joy sticks at the Chong Hok Tong Temple, where you will find a big golden statue of Budha.
Unfortunately, as one visit this place lately; one notices that the tombs are fast losing their architectural flavor as the cemetery space is getting more and more occupied. Some tombs are in disrepair because of lack of funding or family owners have just left the country.
Ramon Magsaysay's Tomb at North Cemetery
Near the Chinese cemetery are the North and La Loma Cemeteries. The North Cemetery is a host to a lot of “who’s who in Philippine history. Three Presidents – Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas and Ramon Magsaysay are entombed here. Other politicians buried here include Claro M. Recto, Quintin Paredes, Manila Mayors Arsenio Lacson, Antonio Villegas, Felix Huertas and Manuel de la Fuente. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s mother in law, Lourdes Tuason – Arroyo is buried in the North Cemetery. Two years ago, the remains of First Lady Aurora Aragon-Quezon was exhumed and brought next to her husband’s resting place at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. Going around the cemetery, where the raised graves are literally side by side, with very little space from each other, one gets to notice the different busts, figures, and Virgin Mary statues that try to gain this visitor’s attention. I was wise enough to have hired a caretaker guide to bring me around this maze of graves and marbles or I would have been soon overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope before me. No standardize headstones for most of these worthies; instead, equestrian statues, shrouded mausoleums, busts, plaques, overwrought epitaphs, and genuflecting angels are sure enough to win a nod from Saint Peter in heaven.
Paco Park
Over at Paco Park, I have always manage to return to this place in between drives from Manila to Makati or Paranaque. I don’t blame some lovers who just want to have their weddings officiated in this “graveyard” turned park. Though quintessentially a Spanish campo santo, Paco Park welcomes tourists and visitors alike. Others bring their children to play tag, or hide and seek. Old ladies and gentlemen arrive here early mornings equipped to feed the hungry colonies of pigeons and maya birds that warble in the cemetery’s grave ruins and acacia trees. Couples too come to hug and kiss; not all are young though, nor is it clear whether all are legally free to hug, but even those whose amours are not necessarily clandestine, find that love blooms along the paths of Paco park. This place is best enjoyed during late afternoons, before closing time (8:30am – 5:00pm) .Paco Park draws one back as I did, having returned often.
Paco Park
Unmarked and Empty Graves
When I was a child, I was always wondering why there was an American Cemetery in the Philippines when the US, had a far bigger space to bury their dead. As I grew older I realized the American part in our country’s history. The American Cemetery here in the Philippines memorializes the many thousands of Filipinos and Americans who died fighting during the last World War. Apparently, this cemetery is the largest facility outside the United States and consists of hectares of white marble crosses and Stars of David aligned in neat contoured rows up the hillside to the memorial. If you’re on a visit, check out the columns along the walls. You might just have a name posted of your long lost relative who fought in the last world war. As you walk the circular column enjoy one of the best views of the surrounding polo club landscape.
If you plan to do these cemeteries visit, it’s best to go with a friend or even your close relatives. According to culture experts, cemeteries are among the last places altered by forces of economic progress and development. Like historic artifacts, cemeteries tell what life was like in the past and how it continues to evolve. After all, they are in a way, a time capsule of Philippine history and culture. http://www.clickthecity.com/metro/?p=2210
Then there is the columbary of the San Agustin Church where remains of famous Spanish governor generals including Juan Miguel de Legazpi plus a host of others and several other well known Spanish families – Zobels, Ayalas and Sorianos are all neatly buried in one side wall of this church.
San Agustin Church
Inside San Agustin Church
But having seen many crypts and mausoleums all over the world, our own burial grounds have hundreds of interesting stories inside them. Majority of these vast manicured properties are so steeped in lore that some of these cemeteries have their own “unofficial historians.”
Chinese Cemetery
The state of the Chinese cemetery reflects how the Chinese are in the Philippines. The streets are well paved, and well lit. It seems airier and more spacious somehow commented Teddy, my traveling companion and photographer. If you’re Chinese, you can light your joy sticks at the Chong Hok Tong Temple, where you will find a big golden statue of Budha.
Unfortunately, as one visit this place lately; one notices that the tombs are fast losing their architectural flavor as the cemetery space is getting more and more occupied. Some tombs are in disrepair because of lack of funding or family owners have just left the country.
Ramon Magsaysay's Tomb at North Cemetery
Near the Chinese cemetery are the North and La Loma Cemeteries. The North Cemetery is a host to a lot of “who’s who in Philippine history. Three Presidents – Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas and Ramon Magsaysay are entombed here. Other politicians buried here include Claro M. Recto, Quintin Paredes, Manila Mayors Arsenio Lacson, Antonio Villegas, Felix Huertas and Manuel de la Fuente. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s mother in law, Lourdes Tuason – Arroyo is buried in the North Cemetery. Two years ago, the remains of First Lady Aurora Aragon-Quezon was exhumed and brought next to her husband’s resting place at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. Going around the cemetery, where the raised graves are literally side by side, with very little space from each other, one gets to notice the different busts, figures, and Virgin Mary statues that try to gain this visitor’s attention. I was wise enough to have hired a caretaker guide to bring me around this maze of graves and marbles or I would have been soon overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope before me. No standardize headstones for most of these worthies; instead, equestrian statues, shrouded mausoleums, busts, plaques, overwrought epitaphs, and genuflecting angels are sure enough to win a nod from Saint Peter in heaven.
Paco Park
Over at Paco Park, I have always manage to return to this place in between drives from Manila to Makati or Paranaque. I don’t blame some lovers who just want to have their weddings officiated in this “graveyard” turned park. Though quintessentially a Spanish campo santo, Paco Park welcomes tourists and visitors alike. Others bring their children to play tag, or hide and seek. Old ladies and gentlemen arrive here early mornings equipped to feed the hungry colonies of pigeons and maya birds that warble in the cemetery’s grave ruins and acacia trees. Couples too come to hug and kiss; not all are young though, nor is it clear whether all are legally free to hug, but even those whose amours are not necessarily clandestine, find that love blooms along the paths of Paco park. This place is best enjoyed during late afternoons, before closing time (8:30am – 5:00pm) .Paco Park draws one back as I did, having returned often.
Paco Park
Unmarked and Empty Graves
When I was a child, I was always wondering why there was an American Cemetery in the Philippines when the US, had a far bigger space to bury their dead. As I grew older I realized the American part in our country’s history. The American Cemetery here in the Philippines memorializes the many thousands of Filipinos and Americans who died fighting during the last World War. Apparently, this cemetery is the largest facility outside the United States and consists of hectares of white marble crosses and Stars of David aligned in neat contoured rows up the hillside to the memorial. If you’re on a visit, check out the columns along the walls. You might just have a name posted of your long lost relative who fought in the last world war. As you walk the circular column enjoy one of the best views of the surrounding polo club landscape.
If you plan to do these cemeteries visit, it’s best to go with a friend or even your close relatives. According to culture experts, cemeteries are among the last places altered by forces of economic progress and development. Like historic artifacts, cemeteries tell what life was like in the past and how it continues to evolve. After all, they are in a way, a time capsule of Philippine history and culture. http://www.clickthecity.com/metro/?p=2210
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