MIAMI, United States. — The Chinese Cemetery of Havana, cultural treasure and heritage of the nation that keeps the remains of several generations of Chinese emigrants who settled in Cuba, today shows a completely different image than that of several decades ago.
The installation, located a few meters from the Colon Necropolis, has been a victim of the passage of time and the lack of care of its spaces, a reality palpable at first glance.
On a recent visit to the Chinese Cemetery, the youtuber and collaborator of CubaNet Camila Carballo was able to verify the high level of deterioration of the cemetery. Although it retains part of the mystique that has always accompanied it, she highlights the lack of maintenance in some of its areas.
Little gardening work is evident in the installation. Likewise, it is possible to observe pieces of coffins exposed to the elements, an improper fact for a facility that was declared a National Monument in 1996.
The idea of building a cemetery for Chinese emigrants in Havana dates back to December 1882, when the first Chinese consul in Cuba, Liu Liangyuan, began efforts to establish the cemetery.
At first, the Liangyuan project ran into opposition from the Catholic Church, which delayed acceptance until the authorities granted permission eleven years later, on May 20, 1893.
According to the agency Xinhuathe building and the access roads made the construction of the funerary enclosure cost around 23,700 pesos at the time, of which around 8,000 were used to acquire land owned by the Cuban doctor and potentate Federico Kohly.
Despite the fact that there are few native Chinese left in Cuba, the Chinese Cemetery of Havana continues to be a focal point for their descendants, especially in the traditional celebration of Qingming or Day of the Dead, which on the island is always celebrated on the first Sunday of april.
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