About two years ago I decided to visit the
North Cemetery. I learned that important people are buried there and I wanted
to see their graves.
The first thing I discovered—and which to
me was an unpleasant surprise -- was that the North Cemetery was not only the
resting place of the dead but also a residential area for the living. I did not
only find mausoleums but also houses. However, it proved to be a blessing
because I was able to get directions from the residents (the living residents
not the dead!).
I saw the tombs of Magsaysay, Sergio
Osmena, Manuel Roxas and Manuel Quezon. I saw the tombs of Claro M. Recto, Arsenio
(who earned the monicker “Arsenic”) Lacson, a mayor of Manila. Pancho Villa
(the first Filipino champion in the flyweight division) has his tomb there. The
tombs of National Artists and other literary figures are found there, too, such
as Honorata dela Rama, Amado Hernandez, and Huseng Batute.
Next weekend will find Filipinos making
their yearly pilgrimage to the tombs of their loved ones. Bus stations,
airports and piers will be crowded with people on their way to the provinces. Undas
is like a grand re-union that includes the living and the dead. This phenomenon
seems to confirm the strength and extent of family ties, for even death seems
to be powerless to sever these ties.
Every Filipino re-union is characterized by
lots of talk and laughter, lots of eating and drinking, and singing (using
Magic Sing). The re-union in the panchon (cemeteries) is no exception. However,
liquor and deadly weapons are forbidden in an attempt to forestall violence.
The karaoke and videoke are usually not allowed, too, in an effort to maintain
a more sober ambience.
We Filipinos do not usually distinguish
between the social and the religious because we see life as an indivisible
whole. The yearly trek to the panchon is a social event with a religious
motivation. We go there not only to meet our relatives. We go there to pray for
the dead, too. And that should not be forgotten. Let us make sure it remains
that way.
