El Cementerio

From and around Santiago

The Cementerio of Santiago is a place I visited many times during the year I lived there. It's a diverse burial ground, partly covered by grandiose mausoleums in one end, contrasted by rusty metal crosses and barren fields at the other. I find the section of the poor a lot more charming than the cold architectural oddities housing the well to do, because of the colorful decorations and banners that fills this part of the graveyard. Many graves are decorated with banners supporting football teams, birthday balloons, parasols etc, and right after Christmas, a monotone concert of worn out Christmas cards playing jingle bells can be heard as you walk through the sites.

April 9th, 2011