Deathscape politics in Colombian metropolises: Conservation, grave recycling and the position of the bereaved

Abstract

Colombian metropolises face a rapid transformation of public and private death spaces because of land scarcity, a demographic transition and a changing market for dead-disposal services. Based on case studies conducted in Bogotá and Medellín, within a Latin American context, this paper analyses the interplay between local governments and enterprises in the deathscape transformation process. The aim is to assess the effects on cemetery users, particularly the bereaved. Analytically, the paper differentiates between publicly and privately governed cemeteries and between older, inner-city graveyards and newer, suburban park cemeteries. The paper sustains that the old dichotomy of elite versus pauper cemeteries is replaced by a contrast between monumental cemeteries that are used for cultural events and suburban cemeteries that function as efficient repositories. In both cases, efficient management of the physical structures, whether as heritage or as recyclable repositories, seems to prevail over the demand for sensory connections between the dead and the living. ‘Time’ might still distinguish those illustrious dead – who are not allowed to be removed – from those who are removed or recycled. Even their relatives are gradually relegated to ephemeral space as tourist events take over. Hence, regardless of the differences between public and private cemeteries and between inner-city and suburban typologies, the rationalisation process affects the bereaved. They become bystanders in the new temporal-spatial patterns that govern Colombian metropolitan deathscapes.

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