On the banks of Constituyentes Avenue and right in the Chapultepec Forest is the Civil Pantheon of Dolores, considered the largest in Mexico. Within its walls it keeps secrets that you probably didn’t know.
When passing outside this cemetery it is not possible to realize how extensive it is. But it is enough to walk through it or see it from the heights of Line 3 of the Cablebus to appreciate its immensity.
According to “El Panteón de Dolores y sus inicios”, by Ethel Herrera Moreno, this cemetery was inaugurated on September 13, 1875. Its name is due to the fact that the land where it is located was called “Tabla de Dolores”.
Something that characterizes this cemetery is the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons, which was inaugurated in 1876 and pays homage to distinguished personalities. There rest the remains of Rosario Castellanos, Dolores del Río, Virginia Fábregas, Venustiano Carranza, Agustín Lara and Diego Rivera, to mention a few.
In fact, it is said that it is in this cemetery where José Guadalupe Posada rests, who is remembered for being the creator of the famous Catrina, a character that has become emblematic in the Day of the Dead festivities.
The National Institute of Historical Studies of the Revolutions of Mexico details in its social networks, that Posada died at the age of 60 due to an acute enteritis in 1913.
He was buried in the Dolores Pantheon and later transferred to a common grave, after no one claimed his body. To date it is not known exactly where his remains are; even in 2013 some researchers tried to find him to take him to the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons, according to La Jornada.