Manila North Cemetery

{{Short description|Public cemetery in Manila, Philippines}}

{{Other uses|Cementerio del Norte (disambiguation){{!}}Cementerio del Norte}}

{{Use Philippine English|date=March 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}

{{Infobox cemetery

| name = Manila North Cemetery

| image = 65Andres Bonifacio Avenue 61.jpg

| imagesize = 250px

| caption = Entrance of the Manila North Cemetery

| map_type =

| map_size =

| map_caption =

| established =

| country = Philippines

| location = Santa Cruz, Manila

| coordinates = {{coord|14.633|120.989|type:landmark_region:PH|display=inline,title}}

| latitude =

| longitude =

| type = Public

| style =

| owner = Manila City Government

| size = {{Convert|54|ha|abbr=on}}

| graves =

| website =

| findagraveid= 2130523

}}

The Manila North Cemetery (Spanish: Cementerio del Norte) is one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila, Philippines. The cemetery is owned by and located in the City of Manila, the national capital, and is one of the largest in the metropolis at {{convert|54|ha}}. It is located alongside Andrés Bonifacio Avenue and borders two other important cemeteries: the La Loma Cemetery and the Manila Chinese Cemetery. Numerous impoverished families notably inhabit some of the mausoleums.{{cite web

| url = http://www.poyi.org/67/EVI/index.php

| title = Living with the dead: Manila's North Cemetery

| author = James Chance

| publisher = Donald W Reynolds Journalism Institute

| work = Pictures of the Year International

| date = 2010

| access-date = April 5, 2013

}}

History and Architecture

File:Del Norte Cemetery (15164139030).jpg

The Manila North Cemetery was formerly part of La Loma Cemetery but was separated as an exclusively Catholic burial ground.Republic of the Philippines: Presidential Museum and Library."[http://malacanang.gov.ph/undas-2012-a-cemeteries-tour/ Our Heritage and the Departed: A Cemeteries Tour] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928073955/http://malacanang.gov.ph/undas-2012-a-cemeteries-tour/ |date=2015-09-28 }}". The cemetery formerly known as Cementerio del Norte{{cite web |last1=Palafox |first1=Quennie Ann |title=Cemeteries of Memories, Where Journey to Eternity Begins |url=http://nhcp.gov.ph/cemeteries-of-memories-where-journey-to-eternity-begins/ |publisher=National Historical Commission of the Philippines |access-date=November 4, 2018 |date=September 4, 2012}} was laid out in 1904.Vintage Philippines. December 2, 2010. "[http://www.vintagephilippines.com/index.php/news/2010/12/manila-north-cemetery-a-time-capsule-of-philippinehistory Manila North Cemetery: A Time Capsule of Philippine History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503202813/http://www.vintagephilippines.com/index.php/news/2010/12/manila-north-cemetery-a-time-capsule-of-philippinehistory |date=2014-05-03 }}".

The cemetery in its entirety was once called Paang Bundok, the area National Hero Jose Rizal selected as his final resting place. The current Paang Bundok is now a barangay located before the cemetery grounds.{{Cite web|url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/248795/rizal-not-get-dying-wish-simple-burial-paang-bundok/|title=Rizal did not get his dying wish–to have simple burial at 'Paang Bundok'|date=December 25, 2016}}

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II the cemetery became the site of atrocities, with accounts that Imperial Japanese forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita brutally killed more than 2,000 unarmed noncombatants in the cemetery from October to November 1944.

The cemetery being one of the oldest cemeteries in the metropolis is evident on the different designs of mausoleums that reflect the prevailing architectural style in the Philippines during the period they were constructed. The styles range from simple, plain-painted with a patch of greenery, to very complex designs that contain reliefs that are difficult to carve while also having different colors.

Informal settlement

Many people live inside the cemetery with some of them serving as caretakers of the mausoleums where they also stay to survive. When the families or owners of the mausoleums come, especially during and after All Soul's Day, the families transfer to other places. In addition, the informal settlers often serve as informal tour guides, bringing visitors to tombs of famous people and discussing the oral history of the area. Others take advantage of the quantity of visitors during the Allhallowtide holiday, setting up stalls to sell drinks and snacks, and providing visitors other services like renting out their toilets.Sauler, Erik. November 2, 2012. Philippine Daily Inquirer."[http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/300418/from-buko-shakes-to-portalets-entrepreneurs-thrive-at-manila-north-cemetery From buko shakes to portalets, entrepreneurs thrive at Manila North Cemetery]".

Clearing operations made in 2019 destroyed the shanties and other obstructions inside the cemetery, displacing the families who lived in the makeshift homes and in the mausoleums.{{Cite web|last=Valenzuela|first=Nikka G.|date=October 30, 2019|title=Illegal settlers out of Manila North Cemetery|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1183306/illegal-settlers-out-of-manila-north-cemetery|access-date=July 9, 2020|website=Inquirer.net}}

Heritage Structures

= Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution =

{{Main|Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution}}

The Mausoleum of the Veterans of the Revolution is a memorial dedicated to Filipino revolutionaries of the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War.

=Tuason-Legarda Family Mausoleum=

Completed in 1915, this mausoleum is noted for its Egyptian-inspired design, especially the two sphinxes found in its entrance. It is a collaborative work of brothers Arcadio and Juan Arellano. It is the final resting place of the ancestors and descendants of the Tuason-Legarda-Prieto-Valdes families.

= Bautista-Nakpil Pylon =

The Bautista-Nakpil Pylon at the North Cemetery was designed by Juan Nakpil as a tribute to both Bautista and Nakpil families, including his uncle and benefactor, Dr. Ariston Bautista. The funerary pylon is a tall, square podium which has four human figures on the top corners that form a gesture of prayer capping off the tall columns. The frontal side is embellished by geometricized flowers, spiraling foliage, and nautilus shells in low-relief concrete panels which has a highly decorated stoup on the lower portion.{{Cite book|title = Arkitekturang Filipino: A History of Architecture and Urbanism in the Philippines|last = Lico|first = Gerard|publisher = The University of the Philippines Press|year = 2008|isbn = 978-971-542-579-7|location = Quezon City|pages = 331–332, 339}} An octagonal lantern-like form sits on top of the podium with miniature columns buttressing on all sides and crowned by a rigid dome.

File:Bautista-Nakpil Pylon Front View.jpg|Bautista-Nakpil Pylon front view.

File:Bautista-Nakpil Pylon Design.jpg|Art Deco design on the Bautista-Nakpil pylon.

File:Bautista-Nakpil Pylon Site.jpg|Bautista-Nakpil Pylon site.

File:Bautista-Nakpil Pylon Grave.jpg|One of the graves at the Bautista-Nakpil Pylon site.

Notable burials

The remains of key figures in Philippine history are buried in the cemetery. Most of the people have their tombs on the main avenue of the cemetery while other notable people are located near the main entrance. Some of them are:Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 2, 2012. "[http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/tag/manila-north-cemetery Did You Know: Manila North Cemetery]".

Unmarked graves

  • Macario Sakay (1878 –1907), Filipino Revolutionary General. Buried in an unmarked grave after his execution in the Old Bilibid Prisons.
  • 28 victims of Asociacion De Damas De Filipinas fire tragedy on December 3, 1998. Buried in unmarked graves.

Group and Family plots

Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución

File:Norte01.jpg

A memorial and national monument dedicated to Filipino revolutionaries of the Philippine Revolution of the 1890s and the Philippine–American War.{{cite web |title=Our Heritage and the Departed: A Cemeteries Tour |url=http://malacanang.gov.ph/undas-2012-a-cemeteries-tour/ |publisher=Presidential Museum & Library |accessdate=November 4, 2018}} Notable burials in this monument were:

29 Martyrs of World War II Memorial

File:Dalawampu't Siyam na Martir NHCP Historical Marker marker unveiling 5.jpg

This memorial serves as the final resting place of twenty-nine Manila residents that the Japanese Army executed on August 30, 1944. The remains of the executed individuals were said to be located and identified by their compatriots after the war, after a Japanese-American officer (working in the Japanese Army as a spy), revealed what he had seen and the location of the grave after the executions. Their remains were interred in this mausoleum on March 9, 1947. Notable burials in this plot were:

Osmeña Family Plot

Roxas Family Plot

the Philippines]]

Magsaysay Family Plot

File:NorthCem-A.JPG

Bautista-Nakpil Family Plot

File:NorthCem-B.JPG

Roces Family Mausoleum

Tuason-Legarda Family Mausoleum

Poe Family Mausoleum

File:NorthCem-G.JPG

  • Fernando Poe, Sr. (1916–1951), film producer, director, actor
  • Fernando Poe, Jr. (Ronald Allan K. Poe) (1939–2004), National Artist for Film, and 2004 presidential candidate
  • Susan Roces (Jesusa Purificacion Levy Sonora-Poe) (1941–2022), actress and wife of Fernando Poe, Jr.
  • Andy Poe (1943–1995), actor and brother of Fernando Poe Jr.
  • Conrad Poe (1948–2010), actor and half-brother of Fernando Poe Jr.

Other Group plots and memorials

Former interments

Popular culture

  • The Museum Foundation of the Philippines and Carlos Celdran's Walk This Way both used to hold walking tours the Chinese Cemetery, North Cemetery and La Loma Cemetery.
  • Manila North Cemetery and Chinese Cemetery have a trove of funerary architecture. Mausoleums are designed to look like Chinese pagodas, Hindu Shikhara temples, Egyptian pyramids guarded by Sphinxes, Greek- and Roman-inspired temples, Romanesque-type churches, even Art Deco mausoleums.Walter Ang. October 28, 2013. 8list.ph. "[http://8list.ph/manila-cemeteries-trivia/ 8 Trivia About Manila Cemeteries]".
  • The Manila North Cemetery was the plot setting for the episode 'Paa' of the 2010 horror film Cinco.
  • The Manila North Cemetery is where the movie Tombstone Pillow was shot. Tombstone Pillow stars Filipina actress Lourdes Duque Baron. It is directed by Dream Team Directors and musical score was done by Hagay Mizrahi who is known as one of the sound engineers for Justin Bieber. Said film reaped several prestigious nominations and awards abroad namely, Winner for Best Short Drama at the ICP Entertainment Short Film Series, official finalist at the Asian Cinematography Awards, New York City Independent Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, and the NYCIFF Festival. Tombstone Pillow movie highlights the plight of 6,000 impoverished Filipinos living in the Manila North Cemetery.

See also

References