__NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery () is a colonial-era

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cemetery located in

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan in San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (sub-dis ...

. It is the final resting place of many of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under the auspices of Ignacio Mascaro. The cemetery is located outside the walls of

Castillo San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Felipe del Morro (English language , English: Promontory Castle of Saint Philip), most commonly known as ''El Morro'' (The Promontory), is a large Medieval fortification, fortress and citadel in the Old San Juan historic quarter of ...

fortress, one of the island's most famous landmarks. The average height of the wall is and the width ranges from . It was named in honor of Saint Maria Magdalena de Pazzi. According to Rafael Rodríguez, Chaplain and director of pastoral services at the

Universidad del Sagrado Corazón Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (English: University of the Sacred Heart), abbreviated "USC" and often called simply Sagrado, is a private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is one of the oldest and larg ...

located in the Santurce district of the capital, the location of the cemetery is central to the Puerto Rican belief in the separation of death and life. The colonial Spanish government at the time construction of the cemetery commenced, viewed death with fear because it was a mystery. Therefore, they decided to build the cemetery to overlook the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to symbolize the spirit's journey to cross over to the afterlife.''Puerto Rico’s Hidden Treasure''
from the ''

Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication is the journalism unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The college is named for the former longtime publishers of ''The Oklahoman''. History In 1897, five years after the Uni ...

Notable interments

* Pedro Albizu Campos, nationalist leader and politician * Aurora de Albornoz, scholar, poet * José Julián Acosta, abolitionist, journalist * Ricardo Alegría, father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology * Miguel Ángel Álvarez, journalist, comedian and actor * Jose Celso Barbosa, founder of the Puerto Rican statehood movement * Antonio R. Barceló, lawyer, businessman and politician * Félix Benítez Rexach, architect and engineer * Salvador Brau, journalist, poet and historian * Norma Candal, actress * Gilberto Concepción de Gracia, politician, founder of the

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party (, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ideology are usually called ''independentist ...

* Rafael Cordero, known as "The Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico". * Tony Croatto, Italian-Puerto Rican folk singer, composer and television presenter * Tite Curet Alonso, composer * Conchita Dapena, former First Lady of Puerto Rico * José de Diego, poet, lawyer and liberal politician * Manuel Fernandez Juncos, Spanish writer, poet, journalist, writer of Puerto Rican national anthem *

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...

, Academy Award-winning actor and director *

Miguel Ferrer Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film ''RoboCop''. Other film roles include Harbinger in '' Hot Shots! Part Deux'' (1993), Quigley in '' Blank ...

, actor, José Ferrer's son * Leopoldo Figueroa, nationalist leader and politician, co-founder of the Independence Association of Puerto Rico, lawyer, and medical doctor * Pedro Flores, composer * José Gautier Benítez, poet * Rafael Hernández, composer and musician *

Victoria Hernández Victoria Hernández (March 23, 1897 – April 11, 1998) was an Afro-Puerto Ricans, Afro-Puerto Rican music entrepreneur. Though a talented musician, she devoted her career to the business aspects of the music industry. In 1927, she opened the fir ...

, music entrepreneur and musician * Santiago Iglesias, former Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico *

Tito Lara Tito Lara (December 23, 1932 – June 23, 1987) was a Puerto Rican musician. He was considered by many to be Puerto Rico's first television singing teen idol, idol. Early years Lara (birth name: Agustín Enrique Lara Olivencia) was born in Río ...

, composer and musician * Lolita Lebrón, nationalist leader * Muna Lee, writer and first wife of

Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...

* Gilberto Monroig, singer * Samuel R. Quiñones, politician * Evaristo Ribera Chevremont, poet * Ramón Rivero (Diplo), actor and comedian *

Ángel Rivero Méndez Ángel Rivero Méndez (October 2, 1856 – February 23, 1930) was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican soldier, writer, journalist and a businessman. Rivero Méndez was a Captain in the Spanish Army during the Spanish–American War and is credited with ...

, soldier, writer, journalist and businessman credited with inventing "Kola Champagne" * Pedro Salinas, Spanish poet * Luis Sánchez Morales, politician * Miguel Ángel Suárez, actor * Salvador Tió Montes de Oca, writer, poet, journalist * Rafael Tufiño, painter and graphic artist * Carmen Vazquez Rivera, officer of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Gallery

File:Un cementerio mecido por las olas del mar - San Juan, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg, Waves of the Atlantic Ocean are the backdrop of the cemetery File:Capilla del Cementerio Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis - San Juan, Puerto Rico - panoramio.jpg File:Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery.jpeg File:Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico 2.JPG File:Her thoughts.jpg, Statue at the cemetery File:Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery (5422432282).jpg File:Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery aerial photo.jpg, Kite aerial photo of Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis

References

External links

*
Photographic slideshow
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery Roman Catholic cemeteries in Puerto Rico Geography of San Juan, Puerto Rico 1863 establishments in Puerto Rico Buildings and structures in San Juan, Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in San Juan, Puerto Rico Cemeteries established in the 1860s Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Historic district contributing properties in Puerto Rico National Historic Landmark District contributing properties

Notable interments

Gallery

See also

References

External links