Central Cemetery

documentary, dvpal 34m

de Andres Melendez

Bogota, Monday. The day of the "souls" at the central cemetery. People come to pray for the souls of their loved ones but also to entrust all souls with their sorrow. There is Salome, the protector of the poor and miserable, Sigmund Leopold Kopp, who gives his ear to everyone who looks for work und of course all those nameless souls whose wonders are known by everyone.
The central cemetery was built in the 19th century and is the historic cemetery in Bogota. Around 1940 it was run down, the same is true for the city center. But it was reoccupied by migrants from the countryside, who were looking for work in the capital. From this point on the holy and the regular crossed paths. One can meet men, women and children: with their gestures and stories they share somewhat their lives, their hopes, their dreams and of course also their connection with the "souls of the purgatory" in their everyday life.

In the aisles of the cemetery the day-to-day and the sacred go hand in hand. We come accross men, women and children who through their gestures, words and silences tell us about their history and about their relationship with the "souls" in their everyday life.

At the heart of the town, right in the middle of all the violence and agitation, the "souls" bring some comfort and relief to the living.