Colon Cemetery, Havana
Encyclopedia
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón was founded in 1876 in the Vedado
Vedado
Vedado is the downtown and a vibrant neighboorhood in the city of Havana, Cuba. Bordered on the east by Central Havana, and on the west by the Miramar/Playa district. The main street running east to west is Calle 23, also known as 'La Rampa'...
neighbourhood of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on top of Espada Cemetery
Espada Cemetery
The Espada Cemetery is a disused cemetery located approximately a mile west of the city of Havana, Cuba, near to the coast and close to the San Lázaro Leper Hospital...
. Named for Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, the 140 acre (57 ha) cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials. It is estimated that today the cemetery has more than 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults.
Colon Cemetery has a 75 feet (22.9 m)-high monument to the firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s who lost their lives in the great fire of May 17, 1890. As baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
is a leading sport in Cuba, the cemetery has two monuments to baseball players from the Cuban League
Cuban League
The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside of the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961...
. The first was erected in 1942 and the second in 1951 for members of the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame
Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame
The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that honors eminent baseball players from the pre-revolution Cuban League. Established in 1939, by 1961 it had honored 68 players whose names are shown on a marble plaque at Havana's Estadio Latinoamericano...
.
In February 1898, the recovered bodies of sailors who died on the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
battleship Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
were interred in the Colon Cemetery. In December 1899 the bodies were disinterred and brought back to the United States for burial at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. http://www.spanamwar.com/mainefuneral.html
With more than 800,000 graves and 1 million interments, space in the Colon Cemetery is currently at a premium and as such after three years remains are removed from their tombs, boxed and placed in a storage building.
Notable interments
- Santiago ÁlvarezSantiago ÁlvarezSantiago Álvarez Román was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed many documentaries about Cuban and American culture...
(1919–1998), filmmaker - Manuel Arteaga y BetancourtManuel Arteaga y BetancourtManuel Arteaga y Betancourt was a Cuban Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Havana from 1941 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
, Roman Catholic Cardinal - Beatriz Azurduy PalaciosBeatriz Azurduy PalaciosBeatriz Azurduy-Palacios was a Bolivian motion picture director. She was married and worked with Jorge Sanjinés for over 28 years....
(1952–2003), filmmaker - Hubert de BlanckHubert de BlanckHubertus Christiaan de Blanck was a Dutch-born professor, pianist, and composer who spent the better part of his life in Cuba....
(1856–1932), composer - José Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
(1888–1942), world chess champion - Federico Capdevila (?-1898), Lieutenant Colonel of Spanish Army who defended the cuban students of Medicine in 1871
- Alejo CarpentierAlejo CarpentierAlejo Carpentier y Valmont was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Carpentier grew up in Havana, Cuba; and despite his European birthplace, Carpentier strongly self-identified...
(1904–1980), novelist - Eduardo ChibásEduardo ChibásEduardo René Chibás Ribas was a Cuban politician who used radio to broadcast his political views to the public. He primarily denounced corruption and gangsterism rampant during the governments of Ramón Grau and Carlos Prío which preceded the Batista era...
(1907–1951), politician - Juan ChabásJuan ChabásJuan Chabás was a Spanish-born poet and writer. He was a member of the influential group of writers known as the Generation of '27...
(1910–1954), author - Ibrahim FerrerIbrahim FerrerIbrahim Ferrer was a popular Afro-Cuban singer and musician in Cuba. He performed with many musical groups including the Conjunto Sorpresa, Orquesta Chepin-Choven and Afro-Cuban All Stars...
(1927–2005), musician - Candelaria FigueredoCandelaria FigueredoCandelaria Figueredo was a Cuban patriot who fought in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain.-Life:...
(1852–1914), patriot in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain - José Miguel GómezJosé Miguel GómezJosé Miguel Gómez y Gómez was a Cuban General in the Cuban War of Independence who went on to become President of Cuba.-Early career:...
(1858–1921), president of Cuba - Máximo GómezMáximo GómezMáximo Gómez y Báez was a Major General in the Ten Years' War and Cuba's military commander in that country's War of Independence ....
(1836–1905), DominicanDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
military hero - Ruben Gonzalez (1919–2003), Cuban Pianist from Buena Vista Social Club
- Nicolás GuillénNicolás GuillénNicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba...
(1902–1989), poet - Nicolás Guillén LandriánNicolás Guillén LandriánNicolás Guillén Landrián was a Cuban experimental filmmaker and painter.Guillén was an accomplished filmmaker. He made a total of 13 documentaries, although they were heavily censored and prevented from being part of the Cuban Film Industry...
(1938–2003), Filmmaker and painter - Tomás Gutiérrez AleaTomás Gutiérrez AleaTomás Gutiérrez Alea was a Cuban filmmaker. He wrote and directed more than 20 features, documentaries, and short films, which are known for his sharp insight into post-Revolutionary Cuba, and possess a delicate balance between dedication to the revolution and criticism of the social, economic,...
(1928–1996), filmmaker - Harrison E. HavensHarrison E. HavensHarrison Eugene Havens was an American lawyer and politician. He was born in Franklin County, Ohio and was the Republican Party Representative from Missouri for the 4th District in the 42nd United States Congress between 1871 and 1873, and for the 6th District in the 43rd United States Congress...
(1837–1916), United States Congressman - Alberto KordaAlberto KordaAlberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda or simply Korda was a Cuban photographer, remembered for his famous image Guerrillero Heroico of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.-Early life:Korda, whose real name was Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, was born on 14 September 1928 in...
(1928–2001), photographer - José Lezama LimaJosé Lezama LimaJosé Lezama Lima was a Cuban writer and poet who is considered one of the most influential figures in Latin American literature....
(1910–1976), writer, poet - Dulce María LoynazDulce María LoynazDaughter of the famous General Enrique Loynaz del Castillo, a hero of the Cuban Liberation Army and author of Cuban National Anthem lyrics; and sister of poet Enrique Loynaz Muñoz...
(1902–1997), poet, novelist - Dolf LuqueDolf LuqueAdolfo Domingo De Guzmán "Dolf" Luque , was an early 20th century Cuban starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.Luque was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1967....
(1890–1957), Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
starting pitcher - Mary McCarthy Gomez CuetoMary McCarthy Gomez CuetoMary McCarthy Gomez Cueto was the widow of a wealthy Cuban businessman who died in poverty, unwilling to leave the island and unable to access her funds because of the US embargo on trade with Cuba...
(1900–2009), Havana socialite and musician - Armando MarsansArmando MarsansArmando Marsans was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1911 to 1918. He played in three different major leagues in his career: with the Cincinnati Reds in the National League , with the St. Louis Terriers in the Federal League , and with the St...
(1887–1960) Major League Baseball outfielder - William Alexander MorganWilliam Alexander MorganWilliam Alexander Morgan was a United States citizen who fought in the Cuban Revolution. He was one of only two foreign nationals to hold the rank of Comandante in the revolutionary forces....
(1928–1961), American adventurer - Fernando OrtizFernando OrtizFernando Ortiz Fernández was a Cuban essayist, ethnomusicologist and scholar of Afro-Cuban culture. Ortiz was a prolific polymath dedicated to exploring, recording, and understanding all aspects of indigenous Cuban culture...
(1881–1969), ethnomusicologist - German PinelliGerman PinelliGerman Pinelli was a Cuban journalist and actor....
(1907–1996), journalist, actor - Chano PozoChano PozoChano Pozo was a percussionist, singer, dancer and composer who played a major role in the founding of Latin jazz...
(1915–1948), musician, pioneer of Afrocuban jazz - Juan Ríus RiveraJuan Rius RiveraGeneral Juan Ríus Rivera , was the General of the Cuban Liberation Army of the West upon the death of General Antonio Maceo.-Early years:...
(1848–1924), Puerto RicanPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
military hero - Lola Rodríguez de TióLola Rodríguez de TioLola Rodríguez de TióThis name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name " Rodríguez" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Tió"., , was the first Puerto Rican born poetess to establish herself a reputation as a great poet throughout all of Latin America...
(1848–1924), Puerto Rican poetess.Car