Adventures in Retirement: Monterrey Cemetery

I went to Monterrey last weekend and spent four nights. I disregarded the recent violence involving the 40 headless bodies that were found on the highway between here and there. Again I took the bus. I don't think my car would survive for long in Monterrey. If I am not hijacked on the highway, the car would be stripped overnight where ever I park it.

I was telling someone about the buses to Monterrey. They really are better than the Greyhound. The seats are nore spacious and the rows are not as crowded. There is a restroom for the male passengers and a separate one for the female passengers. The trip is about 4 hours long and this allows for two movies to be shown. These are usually American movies that are subtitled or dubbed into Spanish.

Cerro de la Silla (Saddle Mountain)

My grandfather died in 1973 and my aunt - his daughter - in 1992. They are both buried in the same plot. Although I found it unusual, it is a common thing in Mexico. I needed to know where they were buried.

The cemetery is "Panteon de Dolores." It is adjacent to "Pateon El Carmen," and it is important to know where to look because they are huge. Here is a Google Earth image.

The red line is the path to the gravesite. From the entrance all the way to the back and then all the way to the right. I don't know why something closer to the entrance was not purchased. The office gave me an "address" for the grave, but the land mass is not marked in any way.

The entrance to the cemetery looks like the entrance to never-never land - well yes! After you go to the office for directions, there is a group of older gentlemen who would gladly take you to the general area and help you find the site and they work for tips. I chose to go it alone.

Although it was early in the morning it was starting to get hot. The shady street past the entrance helped.

Half-way to the back was the chapel. I was immediately struck by how clean the grounds were.

There is no dirt to step on. The area between the rows are paved "sidewalks." I also found out that they do not use any dirt in the graves. More on that later. Also in the picure below notice the brown-roofed enclosures with the windows.

So I finally find my relatives' resting place. On my next trip I need to find out under whose name it is and change it. Else it will be taken over by the cemetery and resold.

Unlike other cemeteries, this one is orderly. The names were etched but the groves did not have any paint. I decided to return the next day with a permanent marker and the image below is the result.

I took pictures with detailed instructions on how to find the site. If there is anyone interested in going there, they will have an easy time.

No Dirt

The plots are sold and dug according to the owners instructions. The norm is to have 5 compartments.

This is a grave that I assume caved in. Each "ledge" going up to the sunlight would be where the cement lid is placed over the coffin. It then serves as the base for the next occupant, hence, no dirt is needed.

I am sure that this method of burial is common in other parts of the world, but I had never seen it or known about it.

In my experience, a distant cousin needed to bury her son and could not afford the real estate. She asked my mother if her son could be buried with my greatgrandmother. The hole was dug and whatever was there was collected and re-enterred in the side of the grave, making room for the new coffin. I wonder what happens in the graves with 5 occupants and the family needs room for a 6th?

Back to these structures.

It is not enough to spend the money on a marble topper. Some folks have extra cash to spend. These are as wide as the gravesite. The interior varies a little. It can simply house the marble topper. Or it is a marble floor with artificial flowers in large vases. Some have a prayer-kneeling-thing. What I found over the top is the structure itself.

The windows are etched glass. The lower part of the window is louvered.