The San Joaquin Cemetery is situated directly beside the main highway of San Joaquin town, approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Iloilo City. Built in 1892 out of coral rocks, it features twenty stone steps near the entrance, adorned by carved stone balustrades on both sides. This engaging structure leads your eye directly to the arresting mortuary chapel designed in Baroque architecture, standing solidly at the center of the grounds.
San Joaquin Cemetery (1892) | Iloilo
The Coral Stone Mortuary Chapel
I arrived here after a brief stopover at Miag-ao Church on the day prior to the Dinagyang Festival weekend, when the sun was at its apex. Its rays shone directly over my head, and with sweat drenching my face and my shirt reduced to a mop-like cloth, I persevered and frolicked at the sight that greeted me upon entering the cemetery.
I've never been to a cemetery as old as this before. Though the earthly bodies resting in this place became younger through the years—with the oldest tombs dating back to the late 1970s—there is still a palpable presence of its century-old existence as I gazed upon the mortuary chapel, which stood like a thick, strong fortress unmindful of the beatings of time.
In the Company of the Departed
I slowly rose through the stone steps and encountered dozens of funeral-goers about to bid goodbye to a loved one. I watched them for a few minutes amidst the sounds of cries and agony from those who remained on Earth. As the cemetery caretakers started to pour cement into the departed man's final resting place and throngs of family members slowly descended the stone stairs, I directed my eyes toward the unwavering statues around me.
It was an eerie feeling as, a few minutes later, I was left all alone in the cemetery. The people had slowly faded back into the sleepy town of San Joaquin. Moments later, a couple arrived to take a few pictures while I rested my tired body under a shade near the entrance gate.
Then, soon after, the couple was gone, and I was left once again in the sole company of the departed. Just like in life in general: people come and go, and the only constant is the fact that we are all mortals. Soon, everyone—including me—will be gone to our own specific resting places.
Gratitude at the Town Plaza
I stayed for about an hour inside the cemetery, sitting under the shade as the clear blue skies and white clouds—formed by the genius brush strokes of nature—hovered above me. I pondered mortality for a moment, sitting above the resting places of souls in this rustic sanctuary known as the San Joaquin Campo Santo.
I grabbed my backpack after an hour of quiet amazement and walked further down the town of San Joaquin, where I was greeted by another stunning Spanish colonial church and a town plaza that is both peaceful and charming.
As the sun shone brightly and the cool wind blew in from the coast, I was tempted to sit under a tree and attempt a short nap. However, my Couchsurfing host, Joanne, was just an hour away from finishing work and meeting me in downtown Iloilo. On the walk from the cemetery to the town plaza, passing close to the shoreline, I had nothing in my head but immense gratitude for the opportunity to travel and visit places like this.
