Paco Cemetery
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The Paco Park (originally named as Cementerio General de Dilao) is a recreational garden and was once Manila's municipal cemetery built by the
Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...
during the Spanish colonial period. It is located on General Luna Street and at the east end of
Padre Faura Street Padre Faura Street is an east-west street in downtown Manila, Philippines. It carries traffic one-way westbound from Romualdez Street to Roxas Boulevard. Starting at its eastern terminus at Paco Park in Paco, Manila, Paco district, the street ...
in
Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); ...
,
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Paco Park has also become a popular venue for TV and film shootings, weddings, pre-nuptial shoots, private gatherings and cultural programs. One of its exposures in a movie was in '' Starting Over Again'' (2014).


History


Spanish period

According to an on-site inscription, an order for the construction of a cemetery in Bagumbayan was issued in 1807, due to the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in Manila. Maestro de Obras Don Nicolas Ruiz developed a plan for the Paco Cemetery, while Don Jose Coll served as supervisor of the construction work. The cemetery was primarily designed as a municipal cemetery for the affluent and established aristocratic Spanish families who resided in the old Manila, or the city within the walls of
Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...
during the Spanish colonial era. It was on April 22, 1822, when the cemetery was officially inaugurated, although it had been in use for two years prior to its completion. In 1859, Governor Fernándo Norzagaray y Escudero proposed the extension of the cemetery to approximately 4,500 square yards, enclosing the original plan with another circular outer wall. For the amount of Php 19,700, a Chinese builder won the bid to build the outer portion of the cemetery. At that time, the niches cost Php 20 for three years, which was subject to renewals as no one was granted privilege to own the niches in perpetuity. On December 30, 1896, Philippine national hero Dr.
José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...
was interred at Paco Park after his execution at Bagumbayan. Interment at the Paco Cemetery ceased in 1912. It had been the burial ground for several generations and descendants of those buried in the park had the remains of their ancestors exhumed and transferred to other cemeteries in Manila. However, 65 people still remain buried at Paco.


American and Japanese period

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Japanese forces used Paco Park as a central supply and ammunition depot. The high thick adobe walls around the park were ideal for defensive positions of the Japanese. Prior to the
liberation of Manila The Battle of Manila (; ; ; ) was a major battle during the Philippine campaign of 1944–45, during the Second World War. It was fought by forces from both the United States and the Philippines against Japanese troops in Manila, the capital ...
in 1945, the Japanese dug several trenches and pill boxes around and within the Park with three 75 millimeter guns to defend their fortification against the charging 1st Battalion of the 148th Infantry Regiment of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and
Philippine Commonwealth Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...
.


Post-war and modern period

The park was converted into a National Park in 1966 during the term of President
Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...
. Paco Park's grandeur was slowly restored after the war and since then has remained as a public park and promenade for the community. Paco Park and its care was placed under the responsibility of the National Park's Development Committee (NPDC) during the regime of President
Ferdinand E. Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the country under ...
. During the Marcos period, through the efforts of First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, culture was given emphasis and priority in the country and Paco Park was one of the few venues chosen to host events related to culture. On February 29, 1980, then Press and Cultural Attache of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in the Philippines, Dr. Christoph Jessen with then NPDC Vice-Chairperson Teodoro Valencia started a classical concert at the park as part of the celebrations for the “Philippine-German Month.” The program became a tradition, a weekly fare held every Friday afternoons called the ''“Paco Park Presents.”'' The event featured and highlighted the exchange of Filipino and German musical artists who performed at Paco Park and it served as a means to strengthen the bond between Germany and the Philippines. In 1998, the celebration of Philippine-German month was moved from February to March, with the concert starting at 7:00 pm. However, Paco Park Presents continues to celebrate its anniversary every February. In addition, "Paco Park Presents" features the finest musical artists and chorales, local and guests performers for an evening of classical and traditional Filipino music every Friday by sunset but it was used to aired on the
People's Television Network People's Television Network (; abbreviated PTV) is the flagship State broadcasting, state broadcaster owned by the Government of the Philippines. Founded in 1974, PTV is the main brand of People's Television Network, Inc. (PTNI), one of the att ...
(PTV). Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Paco Park was temporarily closed to the public.


Architecture and design

Paco Park is circular in shape, with an inner circular fort that stood as the original cemetery. Its walls were made hollow to serve as niches, and as the population continued to grow, a second outer wall was built with thick adobe walls. The top of the walls were then made into pathways for promenades. A small, domed Roman Catholic chapel was also built inside the walls of the park and was dedicated to St. Pancratius.
Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr. Ildefonso Paez Santos Jr. (September 5, 1929 – January 29, 2014), popularly known simply as "IP Santos", was a Filipino architect who was known for being the "Father of Philippine Landscape Architecture." He was recognized as a National Art ...
, a noted landscape architect who was given recognition as a Philippine National Artist, was involved in the designing of Paco Park.


St. Pancratius Chapel

Inside the Paco Cemetery is a chapel dedicated to St. Pancratius, a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
citizen who converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, and was
beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...
for his faith at the age of just 14 around the year 304. His name is
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and literally means "the one that holds everything." The chapel is under the care of the San Vicente de Paul Parish and the Vincentian fathers who also manage the nearby
Adamson University Adamson University (; AdU or ADU) is a private Catholic university operated by the Congregation of the Mission located in Manila, Philippines. The university has academic programs in graduate school, law, the liberal arts, sciences, engineerin ...
.


Notable interments

* Dr. José Protasio Rizal, Philippine National Hero, was secretly interred at Paco Park after his execution at Bagumbayan on December 30, 1896, and was guarded for fifteen days by the ''Guardia Civil Veterana''. His remains were exhumed on August 17, 1898, and on December 30, 1912, was laid underneath the monument dedicated to him at
Luneta Rizal Park (), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of . The site on where the park is situated wa ...
as stated in the Park's marker. * Ramon Maria Llanderal Solano, Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines (1857–1860). * GomBurZa friars ''( Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and ' Fr. Jacinto Zamora)'', a trio of diocesan clergymen (secular priest), were buried in the cemetery grounds after their execution on February 17, 1872, after being falsely accused of being linked to the Cavite Mutiny.


See also

*
List of parks in Manila tagui This is a partial list of parks, Town square, public squares and protected areas in and around Metro Manila, Philippines. Urban parks Nature parks Nature reserves Notable plazas Community parks and squares References Externa ...
* Demographic history of the Philippines *
Timeline of Philippine history This is a timeline of Philippine history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in the Philippines and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see history of the Philippines. Pr ...
*
Culture of the Philippines The culture of the Philippines is characterized by great ethnic diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by ...


References


Bibliography

* ''By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II, February 3–March 3, 1945'' by Alphonso J. Aluit (1994) Bookmark, Inc. National Commission for Culture and the Arts


External links


Paco Park and Cemetery

National Parks Development Committee
{{Manila landmarks Parks in Manila Cemeteries in Metro Manila Buildings and structures in Paco, Manila Landmarks in the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Tourist attractions in Manila Works of National Artists of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines