A Tale of Three Cemeteries
By Ellen Joy Anastacio
October  2004

Halloween has never been a big deal to me. I've never worn any costumes, gone trick or treating, or carved any jack-o-lanterns. Back when I was a little kid, that just wasn't popular in the neighborhood. For the longest time, my only Halloween activities, so to speak, were visits to my grandparents' graves on All Saints Day.

So to set the mood for Halloween, I decided to go on a rather ghoulish walking tour; a tour of three cemeteries: La Loma, Chinese, and North Cemeteries. I've never been to any of these cemeteries, not having any relatives buried there. I didn't know what to expect, except that I did not want to encounter any ghosts on the way. That's an added attraction I can do without, thank you!

Our first stop was the La Loma Cemetery, which is run by Catholics. To be buried here, only Catholics need apply. Apparently, back in the Katipunan days, one of the threats that the Spanish officials gave to Filipino rebels was that they can't be buried in Catholic cemeteries like La Loma. We saw the Curcillo House of St. Pancratius, a rather creepy desecrated church that has even been used in horror movies. Nowadays, it's not used as a church, but may be rented for around P4,000 a night, good for 50 persons, and may be used for retreats, etc. Uh, I think I'll pass.

Going around the cemetery, where the raised graves are literally side by side, with very little space from each other, I was fascinated by the different busts, figures, and statues that sat atop graves. There were angels of all kinds, saints, the Holy Family, even a full-sized statue of a lady sitting atop a grave, holding a cross. Fascinating.

We then headed over to the Chinese Cemetery, which is run by Chinese charitable institutions. Much like Philippine society, the state of the Chinese cemetery reflects how the Chinese are in the Philippines. The streets are more well-paved, and well lit. It seems airier and more spacious somehow. Here, you will see the Chong Hok Tong temple, where you will find a big golden statue of Buddha, and where you're supposed to light three joss sticks in front of the altar, which is decorated with Chinese characters, symbols and two golden dragons facing each other.

Here at the Chinese cemetery, you'll find mausoleums shaped like pagodas, big mausoleums, small ones, modern ones, deserted ones. With the respect Chinese give their ancestors, it's no wonder that very elaborate ones, like that of the Ang family, which we were privileged enough to visit, can be found at the cemetery. The Ang mausoleum is large, airy, and has three horizontal levels: the innermost level houses the great grandparents, whose large paintings hanging from above dominate the mausoleum. The second level houses the grandparents, including their brothers and sisters. The outermost level contains the parents, or the generation immediately preceding this one. And because they sometimes stay there all day or overnight during All Saints Day, the mausoleum even has a second floor for resting, a kitchenette, even a rest room. Pretty amazing stuff.

After that, we proceeded to the North Cemetery, which is run by the government. Here, the fascination lies with the number of famous people who are buried there: Ramon Magsaysay, Claro M. Recto, Quintin Paredes, Manuel Roxas, the Thomasites, national artists Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and Juan Nakpil, the doomed 10 to 11-year old Boy Scouts who died over the Himalayas and for whom the scout streets in Quezon City are named, even Andres Bonifacio's widow, Gregoria de Jesus de Nakpil is buried there! Freemasons, Katipuneros, Francis Burton Harrison, even two-time world flyweight boxing champion Pancho Villa is there. So if you want to see where a lot of illustrious people in our history have been lain to rest, maybe the North Cemetery is the place for you. One tip though, do not attempt to do this during All Saint's Day itself. The North Cemetery is literally packed to the rafters with people, flowers, candles, and fast food stalls.

I didn't really know what to expect to see in this tour, but I was rewarded with a fascinating glimpse of Philippine society as divided by who runs the different cemeteries, interesting architectural structures that just can't be seen in more modern cemeteries that are filled with tombstones simply lain in grass. Imagine, at the North Cemetery, the Nakpil family lot even has a tall, amazing pillar designed by the national artist, Juan Nakpil.

Cemeteries are among the last places altered by forces of economic progress and development. Hence, like historic artifacts, they speak volumes of what life was like in the past and how it's continuing to evolve. So, on your next trip to the cemetery, take time to look around. Who knows what they may reveal.

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