City of souls, Havana's Colon necropolis an architectural gem

A pregnant woman looks at the shrine of La Milagrosa (the Miraculous One) in Havana's Cristobal Colon Necropolis

HAVANA (AP) -- Laid out along the plan of an ancient Roman city, Havana's Cristobal Colon Necropolis is one of the globe's great cemeteries, offering a fascinating stroll through architectural treasures and Cuban history.

Since its first recorded burial in 1868, the cemetery's population has grown to an estimated 1 million. Its grid of numbered and lettered streets contains grandiose family plots of self-indulgence and austere memorials to martyrs of Fidel Castro's revolution.

And there is the fanciful. A sailboat sculpture honors Antonio Balaz, a national sailing champion. A double-three domino marks the final resting place of Juana Marin, a fanatic of the game who suffered a heart attack when she couldn't use a final double-three clutched in her hand. A white marble chess king adorns the tomb of world champion Jose Raul Copablanca.

Galician architect Calixto de Loira won the competition for the cemetery's design with a submission titled "Wan Death Arrives Without Distinction at Hovels and at the Palaces of Kings." The results live up to his promise.

Here lie Spanish bishops, revolutionary heroes Maximo Gomez and Marcelo Salado Lastra, and politician Eduardo Chibas, a crusader against corruption who committed suicide during a radio broadcast in 1951. At Chibas' funeral, a young Castro jumped atop the grave to denounce the government in his public debut.

For a $1 entry fee, an aide will lend a well-worn map ("Our only one," she apologizes). You'll need it if you're pressed for time to catch the highlights of the 138 acres.

With a flourish, the arches of the necropolis' Romanesque-Byzantine Gate of Peace open onto Christopher Columbus Avenue, a broad, tree-lined way where you find tombs of the "First Order" -- mostly honoring pre- and post-colonial Cuban heroes and the privileged.

They include an imposing chestnut, gray and beige marble obelisk commemorating independence hero Gomez, who died in 1905. Farther along is the modernistic chapel for Catalina Lasa (1936) designed by Rene Lalique: white marble, black granite and purple crystal in a main facade and vaulted apse that resembles a space pod from "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Neo-Gothic, eclectic, modernist, Art Deco, neo-Romanesque styles abound. A small pyramid modeled after Egypt's Cheops contrasts with elaborate statuary of Christ and the Virgin Mary. A hilltop stand of polished metal flags is raised in everlasting tribute to Castro's fallen comrades.

Cherubs that adorn a mausoleum dedicated to eight Cuban medical students executed by Spanish colonial troops in 1871 were sculpted by renowned Cuban artist Jose Vilalta Saavedra.

A small pyramid modeled after Egypt's Cheops is pictured in Havana's Cristobal Colon Necropolis

Pilgrims flock to the shrine of "La Milagrosa" (the Miraculous One), a woman who died in childbirth in 1901 and whose remains were said to be intact when she was disinterred years later.

At times, the necropolis' juxtapositions can be staggering.

The stark Pantheon of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, its bearded metal warriors standing guard and tombs marked by number, stands near a modest memorial built by the one-time Anglo-American Association of Cuba.

"There are a lot of gringos here," said Jorge Guadalupe, a 55-year-old dentist using chisel and brush to restore a small 1937 marker for a father-in-law.

"This is a beautiful place," Guadalupe said, wiping a sweat-stained brow. "It's a national monument, a history not only of Cuba but of many nations."

In all, there are 420 chapels for families, immigrant groups and charitable and workers associations. They include memorials for masons, French and Japanese immigrant colonies, telephone workers, merchant sailors, baseball players, umpires and coaches, dock workers and the Workers Society of La Tropical Brewery.

Not everyone enjoys such recognition in the afterlife. Victor Dominguez presides over the cemetery's octagonal General Ossuary, leading relatives through a grim maze lined by stacks of concrete urns.

"They say there are 11,000 little boxes here," Dominguez shrugs. "For 10 pesos a year families can keep them here." With a friendly nod he bids farewell, ready to direct another visiting family to their dead.

Amid it all, the living continue to bury their dead. Tourists pause as funeral processions of taxis and old Chevys pass by. Mass is celebrated in the 1886 Central Chapel, an octagonal Romanesque-Byzantine structure with a fresco titled "Final Judgment," by Cuban artist Miguel Melero.

A visit to the necropolis can appropriately end with a simple marble star marking the grave of revolutionary hero Marcelo Salado Lastra, who died in 1958. Its inscription -- and his quote for eternity: "One can only be happy when we create a place in history, when we feel that we are fulfilling our duty."

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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