On my first visit to Mérida passing Plaza Mayor, we slowly circled through a vast cemetery, the oldest in Mérida, Cementerio General. If you like moseying through old cemeteries, this one is a particular treasure. It is the largest and oldest in Mérida and is graced with a few very spectacular headstones and mausoleums of wealthy Hacienda owners.

I am fascinated by cemeteries all over the world, a treasure trove of stories reside in these quiet reverential final burial places. Filled with history, ornate graves and personal stories. There is a word to describe people drawn to cemeteries: taphophile. The word cemetery is from Greek etymology – derived from a word which literally means sleeping chamber or burial place. Cemeteries are often considered places of peace; it has always been conveyed that they are places of rest and serenity.

A resting place, built in 1821 and is the largest cemetery in Mérida, lined with tree filled avenues and over 25,000 ornate burial sites. It is a historic, culturally rich cemetery known for its impressive mausoleums, striking architecture, and stories of famous local. The life size intricately carved stone, was mostly carved by accomplished stone cutters from Europe. The Cementerio mimics community life, the wide main avenue is lined by the houses/mausoleums of the wealthy, the casta divina families. Many historic people are buried here, and its memorials are built in Greek, Gothic or French neoclassic styles, often from stone or granite brought from Europe by local wealthy families. They range from classically beautiful to over-the-top displays of wealth, and deeper in the back you will find simple but colorful houses of the dead, all filled with restos – remains. The more humble resting place of the local folk.

Humberto, my guide, led me to a remarkable mausoleum, a shrine to a wealthy Hacienda patron. An enormous full size bed, layered with rippled linen sheets of hand carved marble, is elevated about five feet off the ground. Standing alongside the bed is a elegantly dressed woman, Rosa Benet, gently lifting the corner of the sheet to gaze at her husband, Alvaro Medina Rodriguez, who passed away while she was at a gala. The story is that he had persuaded her to go and enjoy the evening, she protested, but went and missed saying a last goodbye to her beloved husband. The work was an imitation of the work of Mexican sculptor Almo Strenta.

Often described as beautiful but also somewhat haunting, offering a glimpse into Mérida’s history and societal divisions. One surprise was the grave of an intrepid American woman, Alma Reed, who had a love affair with Governor Felipe Carillo Puerte. He, a Socialist, doing much to reform and improve the lives of the Mayan workers, was assassinated with some of his brothers and Socialist colleagues. His mausoleum is on a large circular corner, the “Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres” (Rotunda of Illustrious Men). It includes a memorial area for prominent socialists. His fiancée, journalist Alma Reed, is buried directly across the corner. Imagine in 1924, a single woman traveling by train from San Francisco to the Yucatán coast.

The Governor was in the midst of a divorce and was engaged to Alma, who was a writer for several New York and San Francisco newspapers. Alma was in San Francisco buying her wedding dress when he was assassinated. Crushed by the death of her lover and fiancée, she asked to be buried near him. Her grave is across the street from his, lovers separated by a wide road. Her story is quite unique, I encourage you to read her story or in the several books published about her life.

Many of the graves were designed and built to mirror the very European style of the homes of the deceased. The wealthy Mérida residents replicated their residences offering a gentle transition from life to the ever after. Much of the materials like the grand old buildings came from Europe. Intricate crosses, statues of figures pointing skyward, angels of silence, all symbolic.

Reports of wandering ghosts of the deceased are popular. Day of the Dead in October is celebrated for days with elaborate recreations of favorite foods of the deceased. Other posts on Mérida. Highly Recommend!