Revisiting the past at local cemeteries

CEBU, Philippines — One may not be limited to archives and extant proofs in learning the history and cultural evolution of a place. One rich source of information on the past are, well, old cemeteries.  A visit to one of these burial places is sure to take one back in time.

Cebu City has quite a number of old cemeteries, notably the Carreta Cemetery and the Dona Pepang Cemetery. There are other cemeteries just as old, but these two seem to be the most widely known. The prominence of the Carreta and Dona Pepang cemeteries are due in good part to the public standing of those buried there.

Carreta Cemetery is one of the biggest cemeteries in Cebu. This Catholic cemetery has sections devoted to certain groups or organizations, like for the World War II veterans and the Asociacion Benefica Espanola de Cebu, intended for the Filipino-Spanish families in Cebu. Considering the cemetery’s long existence, it is now almost overflowing and prompting the local Catholic Church to resort to the construction of new niches stacked up to six levels high. There is even recently constructed an apartment-type columbary in an effort to maximize the use of space.

Ornate Spanish-era mausoleums and niches are found in the cemetery. These are mostly characterized by thick walls and arched opening, a sight that automatically hints of their ages.  Many other interesting graves are found in the cemetery.

It shall be noted that the street fronting the original gate of Carreta Cemetery was called Calle de los Martires. Stories have it that the street was so called because this was the pathway through which the bodies of “insurrectos” executed at Fort San Pedro were taken for burial at the cemetery. At the fall of the Spanish rule, the street was dedicated to those martyrs of freedom.

Dona Pepang Cemetery came into existence with the construction of the Osmena Mausoleum upon the death in 1918 of Doña Estefania Chiong Veloso-Osmeña, the first wife of Sergio Osmena Sr. The mausoleum is of neoclassic design, and now holds the remains of other members of the Osmeña clan. The niches are located in the underground chamber.

Estefania, born in 1875, was the daughter of Nicasio and Cenoveva Chiong Veloso, rich Chinese traders. In 1901, she was married to Sergio Osmena, then a budding politician and lawyer. She died at the age of 42.

The Osmena Mausolem was such an imposing structure in the area, and people referred to it simply as Dona Pepang, Estefania’s popular name. Hence, the cemetery that developed around it also came to be called Dona Pepang Cemetery. Other prominent names in the cemetery were Cuenco, Jarez, Garcia, Ramos, Escaño, Briones, Pelaez, Noel, and Climaco, although most of these have since been relocated to much newer memorial gardens.

The Carreta and Dona Pepang cemeteries provide a hauntingly nostalgic view of how the Cebuanos of old – the well-to-do and the common people – regard their dead. The effort and resources poured into the construction of tombs are quite telling of the respect and affection that the living had for their dear departed. And considering that these two cemeteries are the final resting places of pioneering Cebuano community leaders – they also give today’s visitors a good peek into Cebu’s historical past.