Comments on: Why You Should Visit Cementario General in Xela: Guatemala’s Most Beautiful Cemetery

By: sarah

sarah — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:54:25 +0000

wow that do look so different, thank you for the photo Audrey!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:56:58 +0000

@Sarah: We also find a lot of cemeteries we visit on our journey physically beautiful and very peaceful. In this cemetery, there were two sections. The painted “drawers” were all painted different colors – these are for the middle class essentially (I forget how much they cost). However, the wealthier tombs were more like mausoleums and those are less colorful and made more from grey stone.

I don’t know for sure, but perhaps the tradition of colorful paint comes from indigenous (Mayan) culture. The colors used here are also used in the weavings for clothes and in embroidery.

We saw the Guatemala City cemetery from afar, but I believe there were some colorful areas there and the cemetery in Livingston had painted graves which were painted all different colors.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:37:28 +0000

Yea it really does tell you about the culture. They actually look beautiful, not trying to be disrespectful to the dead. But The stone are painted with colors instead of the Grey one I always see. Are all the cemeteries look the same there?
-s

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:45:44 +0000

@Sarah: Thanks for stopping by and glad you enjoyed this panorama. It may sound morbid, but we enjoy visiting cemeteries when we travel – they really tell you so much about the culture of a place.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:04:06 +0000

Hi Daniel and Audrey,
Wow, these shots are amazing and the post are nicely written! The cemetery in Guatemala is so unique. Your post makes me want to go for a visit.I never see a cemetery like that compare to the US one. I’ll come back to your blog again, great post!
-Sarah

By: Shannon OD

Shannon OD — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:25:27 +0000

I didn’t go because it was too “peligroso” according to everyone at the school but I wish I had! Love the panorama though – next best thing to having stopped in myself 🙂

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:55:15 +0000

@Shannon: Scenes like these are great for the panorama medium. I know schools need to be protective, but it is sometimes tough to gauge how “peligroso” something really was. At our school, the rules were that groups needed a minimum of four people to visit the Cemetery because of thieves. Here’s something for you to visit next time!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:46:27 +0000

@Dave & Deb: Glad we were able to show some of the beauty of this cemetery in this panorama.

@Jennifer: I agree with you about Recoleta being both sad and stunning at the same time. It’s a beautiful place, but also feels like it’s in decay or past its prime.

By: Jennifer Barry

Jennifer Barry — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:48:37 +0000

Really funky and colorful! I haven’t been to Guatemala but I’ve been to Recoleta which is sad and stunning in it’s own way.

By: Dave and Deb

Dave and Deb — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:41:32 +0000

Wow! Now that is beautiful