The fame of the Christopher Columbus Cemetery whose works began on October 30, 1871, was internationally recognized before the end of this century by the most prestigious tourists' guides which described the Havana of that time.

Two wide avenues from North to South named Christopher Columbus and Bishop Espada and from East to West Fray Jacinto, made up the main cross which divides the cemetery area in four parts or sections. Calixto Aureliano de Loira y Cardoso (1840-1872), an architect of Galician origin, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Arts of San Fernando de Madrid, was the general author of the project which with the title “The pale death enters in both the huts of the poor and the kings' palaces”, won the 1869 contest summoned for the building of the new Havanan cemetery. The most important monument of this funeral city is the majestic, North Door equipped with three main entrances where the arch of triumph motif is found. The funerary symbols found in the obverse and reverse of the North Door of the Necropolis, whose maximum altitude in the center is 22.5 meters, are the upside-down torches which symbolize the end of life, the honored laurel leaves and wing-shaped sand watches, whose grains mark every minute of the ephemeral human life. In 1901 a group of sculptures made of white Carrara marble by the title "The Three Theological Virtues" (Faith, Hope and Charity), crowned the attic of the North Door. The inscription in Latin "Janua sum Pacis" which can be read at the foot of this marble large group, gives the name to the main door of the Necropolis: The Peace Door. Two medallions alluding to "Jesus Crucifixion" and "Lazarus Resurrection" completed the decoration of this hierarchical access. José Vilalta Saavedra, the first great Cuban sculptor, was the author of these works made in Italy under his direction. The doors of wrought iron that close the openings of the Peace Door has three C, which stand for the initials of Christopher Columbus Cemetery (CCC), the only necropolis of the Americas devoted to the Admiral. The family chapel-pantheons are small temples which house the tombs in their interiors, following the old traditions which disappeared thanks to the efforts made by enlightened men as the Second Bishop of Havana, Juan José de Espada y Landa from 1805. These buildings were erected following a broad range of styles and using different materials, depending on the date of construction and the resources of the individual. Among the noted peculiarities of this necropolis are the large numbers of architectural and historic works of great value. There are over 400 works spread along the different sections and some are outstanding examples. Other larger chapels with niches, the property of benefic societies of imigris, mainly of Spanish origin, among them, one that excels for its fine design is that of the Benefic Asturian Society. Memories of the Chinese homeland as well as of regions, city halls and even parties of many Spanish generations and their Cuban descendants. It was inaugurated in 1897 a careful replica of La Pieta by Miguel Angel Buonarotti, of an anonymous author, draws the attention when stepping into the Christopher Columbus Square. Mario Benlliure, Catalonian, is the author of another monument among the most original ones of this site, "the Lord Ascension" (1936) and the bronze door that forms part of the pyramidal chapel, belonging to the Falla Bonet family. Another reason for visiting the site is the historical personalities buried in this cemetery. The pantheon which preserves the mortal remains of the Dominican, Generalisimo Maximo Gómez, Supreme Chief of the Cuban Liberation Army is located on the Avenida de Colón, very close to the Peace Door. To the South, on the Obispo de Espada Avenue, the Armed Forces Mausoleum can be visited, at present only devoted to political personalities of great fervor and very popular as Celia Sanchez, heroine of the Sierra Maestra. Scientists, artists and Cuban men of letters of the 19th century as Carlos J. Finlay, discoverer of the transmitter agent of the yellow fever or Cirilo Villaverde, the author of the first Cuban novel Cecilia Valdis or La Loma del Angel ocupy both sides on the northeast section. Very close is the tomb of the author of Explosion in the Cathedral by Alejo Carpentier. José Lezama Lima, the author of Paradiso, another emblem of the Cuban culture of the 20th century who eternally rests in a sober pantheon of the northeast section. The tomb of Amelia Gouri Adot, the famous "Miraculous Lady" of the Columbus Cemetery who died in 1902, is a site of frequent pilgrimages. In the Cemetery of Havana, visitors meet the Americas' real-marvelous fantasy scenery in the midst of a society that survives day after day. Even in this site, under the sun, memories are preserved and people trust in love.

THE MIRACULOUS LADY, A LEGEND OF LOVE AND HOPE

Few meters from the Central Chapel of the Columbus Necropolis, a small tomb always covered by fresh flowers is attended by many people with affection. This the grave of Amelia Goyri, the Miraculous Lady. The legend, is about an unfortunate young woman who died when she was 23 in Havana on May 3, 1903, due to a complication when delivering, her newborn could not survive either. Her husband, José Vicente Adot y Rabell buried both bodies in that humble tomb, in the midst of a deepest desperation as a widow. He visited the tomb daily, bringing always fresh flowers and talking to her beloved. He never accepted her death; she simply used to sleep until her husband knocked three times. This was the secret signal. Some years passed by and when the exhumation of the mother's and child's bodies was to be made, an amazing miracle was seen, the bodies were well preserved and the mother was holding the newborn on her arms. The grave was again closed for good. The Cuban sculptor José Vilalta Saavedra inspired in that passion made a sculpture of a natural size, of Carrara marble. Many people from the Havana society who were acquainted with that tragedy, used to frequent that image to pray for his children's protection, a good-term delivery or for the grace of a pregnancy in the case of sterile couples. The myth of the Miraculous Lady grew. Today is a spiritual heritage of the Columbus Necropolis.