With All Souls’ Day approaching, the town of San Mauro buzzes with activity. The cemetery, once a solemn place, becomes a walkable space for reflection and remembrance, and even a little celebration of the lives once shared there. This municipal cemetery stands as the largest in Pontevedra and its outskirts. Some claim it houses the most pantheons in Galicia, tallying up to one thousand and sixty-four. In a quieter corner of the square, a modest area once unused for decades saw a special exception in 2009 for two unclaimed bodies. The individuals, Guan Qu and Kung Zun, both Chinese residents who shared an apartment in Lérez, were killed only a day apart.
Investigations into the deaths remained unresolved due to limited evidence, and the two victims were laid to rest in the San Mauro municipal cemetery. Local figures such as Francisco Abuín, a gravedigger and historian of late Pontevedra, and José González, the director of the Concello cemeteries, note an intriguing pattern in one grave: occasionally, containers from takeout meals and Coca-Cola cans appear on the headstone. The victims’ families never claimed the bodies or repatriated them, leaving the mystery unsolved.
Among traditions observed here, the Qingming Festival in April echoes All Saints’ Day in spirit. It is a time when incense is burned and food offerings are placed for deceased relatives. The same kind of litter found around bottles and food containers in these graves aligns with this practice, suggesting a recurring, mysterious echo of that cultural rite in this location.
Other forgotten dead
January is noted as the month with the most funerals, according to José González. There was a recent spike during the pandemic, with nearly forty registrations in January, a peak in recent memory. Yet, death tends to dip between October and November. The cemetery manager walks the grounds regularly and finds flowers left on graves that had seemed forgotten. He also highlights true mausoleums and notable tombs, including that of Perfecto Feijoo, whose noble materials have suffered from moisture and the march of time.
People sometimes forget that niche spaces eventually belong to the city council and that concession privileges can lapse. The council has not opened every plot yet, but those from the 1950s will soon reach renewal. If they cannot be renewed, there may be questions about how to account for those bodies in the long run. While the oldest tombs at San Mauro date from the early 20th century, the council never claimed ownership of the niches. González also notes that several graves have not seen visitors since the eighties.
full of flowers
As in years past, Plaza de A Ferrería fills with flower stalls around All Saints’ Day. Isabel Vello travels from Campelo to offer loose blooms, with chrysanthemums and roses as the mainstays. Red and pink roses carry a premium, while other flowers are priced more modestly. Prices reflect the added costs of sourcing from outside, yet the vendor keeps prices accessible by growing many stems at home. When heavy weather makes it hard to transport ready-made arrangements, flowers can be sold directly from home, a practice seen this season with almost seventy purchases fulfilled on the spot.
María Isabel Vaqueiro, another florist seen this October near A Ferrería, observes that prices remain steady from the previous year. A pack of carnations runs around ten euros, while ready-made centers vary widely from twelve to forty euros depending on flower type and size of the arrangement.