In Zaragoza’s La Cartuja district, an unusual incident unfolded at the cemetery last Monday, following the death of a family member. Relatives gathered to bid farewell to Mercedes Trasobares, but what they found there defied expectations. There was no undertaker available, and a staff member explained he could not perform the burial. Gloria Navarro, Mercedes’s cousin, recounts the moment for this newspaper.
Her words capture the raw mix of grief and frustration. The inability to access the remains and the absence of staff added a heavy layer of pain to an already difficult time. Mercedes was 72 years old, and the relatives felt that neither she nor her children deserved to confront such a scenario.
Added to the confusion was the fact that the supposed undertaker was a family friend who was also a mason, a detail Gloria notes with disbelief as they waited. The sequence underscored how an ostensibly organized funeral process can unravel in the absence of essential staff and clear planning.
This is not the first time the Trasobares family has encountered similar deficiencies at La Cartuja cemetery, which is under the management of the Zaragoza Provincial Council. Eight months earlier, when Gloria attended another relative’s funeral, the same staffing shortage was evident. “We waited two hours before an undertaker from Casetas arrived,” she recalls.
Moments later, another family in a rural neighborhood faced the same problem: no undertaker appeared, and the deceased had to be transported to the morgue by other means. Gloria questions what is happening at La Cartuja cemetery and whether the situation is being addressed adequately.
Local officials have weighed in, with the neighborhood mayor attributing the issue to the DPZ. He explains that the cemetery operates within the DPZ system and notes that on weekends workers are not always available, causing delays in processing death-related paperwork when a death occurs on a Saturday.
DPZ representatives responded to these accounts by stating that two workers are normally assigned to funerals at La Cartuja, and that steps have been initiated to ensure a minimum of three workers. They described the October 16 incident as the result of unforeseen circumstances that affected personnel availability. Gloria views these explanations as a way of deflecting responsibility and believes the core problem lies elsewhere.
For Gloria, the response feels like a postponement rather than a solution. Her cousin Mercedes rests now, but the issue merits public attention because similar problems do not plague every cemetery in the city. A broader history of neighborhood complaints has fueled ongoing demands for improved staffing and operations at local burial sites, as described by Félix Moreno, secretary of the Jerónima Zaporta Neighborhood Association.
Moreno characterizes the current staff gaps as a lack of political priority for the cemetery. The continued struggle to secure enough workers to cover all operating hours is seen by residents as a symptom of a larger neglect in municipal planning.
The Trasobares family’s experience, viewed as a turning point in La Cartuja, prompted residents to collect signatures in protest of the working conditions. After two years of tension, some momentum appears to be building within the DPZ. A forthcoming meeting is planned to address the number of available workers, with the La Cartuja mayor invited to participate. The discussion is framed as a chance to stabilize staffing and ensure the cemetery is appropriately managed, though no formal decision has yet been made about changing the cemetery’s governance structure.
DPZ officials emphasize that the La Cartuja cemetery is managed by the Zaragoza City Council and is highly valued by local residents. They acknowledge the possibility that adjustments to staffing could benefit cemetery users and reiterate that no official decision has been issued regarding a change in administration. The focus remains on practical improvements in current operations while maintaining the cemetery under city control.
Gloria logs the ongoing demand that the neighborhood has voiced for a permanent, accountable management framework. If a governance change occurs, she believes it should reflect a city-wide standard for cemetery administration, aligning La Cartuja with other city cemeteries that are directly managed by municipal authorities. The conversation continues, with residents hopeful that the upcoming discussions will translate into real, lasting improvements for the community and for families facing loss.