Is this weird and creepy?

I asked my friend and fellow missionary Dana the title question last week in response to an Instagram ad for a guided tour of Santiago's main cemetery, sponsored by a local funeral home. Clearly, she didn't think so, and while I wonder about my Instagram algorithm, this isn't the first time I've purposefully gone walking in a cemetery, either. 

Before I go on, I must say the outing was exceptionally well organized. After scoring a rockstar spot and heeding the parking guy's directive that I "lockear" my car (as if I wouldn't have...), we meandered through an impressively large crowd milling about. The organizers were underneath a pop-up tent registering people by name (though they didn't seem concerned about us) and handing out brochures, bottled water, and headsets so even those at the back could hear the guide. 

We browsed a wall of crypts near the entrance while we waited for the "4:00" tour to start at maybe 4:30. 

I tried following along in the brochure but gave up because the guide stopped at waaaaay more points than were marked and rattled off a stunning array of names, dates, and facts. To me, (2) was the most interesting, and we didn't even have to leave the entrance area to see it: a monument to the victims of a January 11, 1948 DC6 plane crash that killed all 32 passengers including the entire Santiago Baseball Club team on the way back from a doubleheader. 

We also didn't have to go far to see this chunk of the cemetery's original outer wall.  

The rest of the walk consisted of a slow trudge down the cemetery's main drag, with pauses to hear the stories of prominent businesspeople, politicians, wealthy citizens, and even a Swedish botanist who dedicated his life to the study of Caribbean flora. 

Sooooooo many "Espaillat"s (including the former resting place of Pres. Ulises Francisco Espaillat's remains). 

The oldest gravesite (Cipriano Mallol, d. 1855). 

Someone paid 15,000 francs in freight alone to erect this one from imported marble.

Bermúdez, a famous rum family. 

I recognized lots of names from buildings, businesses, and streets around town - e.g. "Sadhalá," the Lebanese namesake of the avenue that borders my neighborhood - but as the sky grew more and more ominous and we grew less and less sure how much longer the guide could keep going, we bounced and went to dinner :)

If you're wondering, yes, I'm intentionally posting this on All Saints' Day. May God bless your grateful remembrance of the faithful who have preceded us in death and are now part of the Church Triumphant, and may you find rest in the fact that, through Christ, you are simultaneously a sinner and a saint in the Church Militant redeemed by His precious blood. 

Until next time, blessings in Christ!