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 54 hectares (130 acres). 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.[1]
History and Architecture
Aerial view of Cementerio del Norte (1928)
The Manila North Cemetery was formerly part of La Loma Cemetery but was separated as an exclusively Catholic burial ground.[2] The cemetery formerly known as Cementerio del Norte[3] was laid out in 1904.[4]
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.[5]
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[6]
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.[7]
Heritage Structures
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.[8] An octagonal lantern-like form sits on top of the podium with miniature columns buttressing on all sides and crowned by a rigid dome.
Bautista-Nakpil Pylon front view.
Art Deco design on the Bautista-Nakpil pylon.
Bautista-Nakpil Pylon site.
One of the graves at the Bautista-Nakpil Pylon site.
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:[9]
Tomas Cloma (1904–1996), president of the Philippine Maritime Institute (now PMI Colleges). Interred in a mausoleum shaped like a ship, titled SS Last Voyage
Lilian Velez (1924–1948), singer-actress of the mid and late 1940s and dubbed as the singing sweetheart of Philippine movies, who was murdered by her co-actor, Narding Anzures on June 26, 1948
Pancho Villa (1901–1925), a boxer, the first Asian Flyweight World Champion
Heneral Guillermo Masangkay (1867–1963), Friend and Adviser of Gat Andres Bonifacio, One of the first member of Katipunan and revolutionary general in Filipino-American War. Buried in his family plot.
Josefa V. Mendoza (1954–2020), Barangay Chairwoman of Malate, Manila (2007–2018)
Juan Arevalo, patriot, son of Bonifacio Flores Arevalo, assembly member (Declaration of Philippine Independence, Cavite-Viejo, Province of Cavite, June 12, 1898)
Adriano Hernández (1870–1925), Brigadier General of the Philippine Revolution and Military Strategist and the local hero of Dingle, Iloilo.
Fernando Canon – Filipino revolutionary general, poet, inventor, engineer, musician
Pío del Pilar (1865–1931), Philippine revolutionary figure.
29 Martyrs of World War II Memorial
29 Martyrs of World War II Memorial
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:
Manuel Arguilla (1911–1944), Ilokano writer in English, patriot, and martyr, known for his widely anthologized short story "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife"
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-Valdes-Prieto families. Notable burials in this plot were:
Narcisa Rizal (1852–1939), sister of José Rizal. Her remains and the remains of the rest of her family were exhumed and transferred to Los Baños, Laguna in 2013[15]
Marcelo H. del Pilar (1850–1896), Philippine author and propagandist. Formerly buried at the Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución under the name Plaridel, was later exhumed and reburied in his house in Marcelo H. del Pilar Shrine Bulacan, Bulacan
Pedro Paterno (1857–1911), 2nd Prime Minister of the Philippines under the First Republic. Formerly buried at the Manila North Cemetery; his remains were later transferred at San Agustin Church
Emilio Jacinto (1875–1899), patriot, the Brains of the Katipunan. Formerly buried in Sta. Cruz, Laguna and was later exhumed and reburied at the Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución. Remains transferred to Himlayang Pilipino, Quezon City in 1975.
Licerio Geronimo (1855–1924), Revolutionary general. Initially buried at the Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución, his remains were then reinterred in the base of the Licerio Geronimo Memorial located in Rodriguez, Rizal on February 20, 1993
Mariano Noriel (1864–1915), Filipino general who fought during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. Formerly buried at the Mausoleo de los Veteranos de la Revolución
Gerardo A. Roxas, Jr. (1960–1993), former representative of Capiz, son of Gerardo Roxas Sr. Transferred to the Loyola Memorial Park.
Dick Israel (1947–2016), movie and television actor, formerly of ABS-CBN and Viva Films; his remains along with his wife Marilyn Michaca (1947–2016) were later transferred to the Eternal Gardens Memorial Park
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.[16]
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.
^Lico, Gerard (2008). Arkitekturang Filipino: A History of Architecture and Urbanism in the Philippines. Quezon City: The University of the Philippines Press. pp. 331–332, 339. ISBN978-971-542-579-7.
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