Panteón De Dolores
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The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and contains the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres (). It is located on ''Avenida Constituyentes'' in the
Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
borough of
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, between sections two and three of Chapultepec Park.


History

The history of the cemetery goes back to 1870, when Juan Manuel Benfield—owner of El Rancho de Coscoacoaco (his wife was Concepción Gayosso y Mugarrieta, sister of Eusebio Gayosso)—set aside an area of his ranch measuring , called ''La Tabla de Dolores'', on which he intended to establish a cemetery. In 1875, the cemetery was opened and named ''El Panteón Civil de Dolores''. Juan Manuel Benfield founded the cemetery in honor of his sister, who died in
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
shortly after she had arrived from
London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
with their parents. As they were
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
s, and all cemeteries in Veracruz were consecrated for use only by
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s, the only suitable burial ground to be had was on the beach. Today, the cemetery has about 700,000 tombs, many with multiple occupants.


The Rotunda of Illustrious Persons

The ''Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres'' (Rotunda of Illustrious Persons) is a site that honors those who are considered to have exalted the civic, national and human values of Mexico. It contains the graves of those who have made important contributions in the military, civic and cultural fields. Originally named “The Rotunda of Illustrious Men” (''Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres''), it was conceived by then
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada as a space to perpetuate the memory of chosen men. The decree reads, “''In this place of honor, the necessary land will be given free of charge to erect the monuments designed to guard the remains of or perpetuate the memory of the illustrious men who are decreed or for whom posthumous honors are decreed''.” In 1876, the first person to be honored with a burial there was a soldier by the name of Pedro Litechipia, who died fighting against the empire of Maximilian. By decree of President
Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the Nat ...
, in 2003, the name was changed to “Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres” (“Rotunda of Distinguished Persons”, rather than ‘men’) as the Rotunda has a number of female occupants. The Rotunda contains the graves of three former presidents, many heroes from the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
, writers, artists and scientists. The National General Archive shows 104 images of those buried there.


Problems

Generally considered the largest cemetery in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, the most serious problem at the cemetery is limited space. No new grave sites have been established since 1975, and only those individuals who have purchased a site in-perpetuity, prior to 1977, can bury relatives in the cemetery; however, the remains must be stacked above those who are already interred. Municipal laws permit a maximum of five bodies to be buried in the same plot, yet some tombs may have as many as ten buried on top of each other. The cemetery is working to encourage the acceptance and practice of
cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...
as an acceptable alternative. The crowded cemetery, along with the desires of many to be interred there, has created a higher demand for
exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
s as well as cremation services. The cemetery has four
crematoria Cremation is a method of final disposition of a corpse through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and Syria, cremation on an open-air pyr ...
, averaging about four cremations daily. However, an average of ten traditional burials are still performed each day, all in graves that have been used previously. The cemetery is listed with National Institute of Anthropology and History as an historical monument, due to the many iconic persons interred there and the old age of the property. However, this status has not kept the cemetery in good repair. There are problems with maintenance as well as security. In the back part of the cemetery, in a
gully A gully is a landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given ter ...
, workers have discarded old caskets and urns that are considered unusable. Those who work in the cemetery bear witness or can attest to graverobbing for artistic and archaeologically-significant pieces. In January 2009, a section of the original south-side retaining wall that was built in the 19th century crumbled and fell, damaging a number of graves in the process. This section was over 1 km long and 4 meters high. Rehabilitation work had been scheduled for September 2008, at a cost of 10 million pesos, with a focus of making the cemetery more dignified for visitors, including the remodeling of the main entrance on Constituyentes Avenue.


Notable people interred at the Panteón Dolores

The following is the list of people currently interred at the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons:All the information in the list can be found at th
Official web page of the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres
(in Spanish).


See also

* * * Rotonda de Hombres Ilustres — similar style monument in city of Chihuahua, México''.


External links

Rotunda of Illustrious Persons Official Site


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panteon De Dolores Cemeteries in Mexico City Chapultepec 1875 establishments in Mexico Tourist attractions in Mexico City Cemeteries established in the 1870s