Be it in New York, Vancouver or London, Chinatown is usually the place where ethnic chinese consider to be home away from home, a place where we can relive most things chinese. But here in Manila, aside from the having the usual Chinatown, Chinese-Filipinos consider the Chinese Cemetery located in La Loma, to be the most significant place which ethnic chinese can truly call their own.
The cemetery was founded in 1850 by a man named Lim Ong during the Spanish occupation, establishing this place was a necessity due to the refusal of the Catholic church to bury non-catholic people, plus the idea of sending their dead loved ones back to China was not a very practical idea.
The present cemetery encompasses 54 hectares & boasts of paved roads with street names. And just like the world outside, has lots that are considered prime locations and even boasts a millionaires row where pillars of the Chinese-Filipino community are laid to rest.
Mausoleums of the simple to the most extravagant that might include airconditioning, bathrooms, kitchens/dining area and even mailboxes, some even having 2nd floors can be found here. Maybe this is the reason why many have called it a Living City of the Dead.
My treatment of the story would be to focus more on how the cemetery brings about a sense of belonging to a present day Chinese-Filipino, who are slowly beginning to lose their sense of identity as they begin to embrace a more Filipino way of life & how by visiting the cemetery and walking thru its street can one practically live through the history of Chinese-Filipinos and experience the hardships & struggles & successes that they underwent with their life in the Philippines |
