Tolomato Cemetery

 Tolomato Cemetery

14 Cordova St, St. Augustine, FL 32084

February 24, 2022

Tolomato Cemetery can be found in St. Augustine, Florida.  It is the resting place for around 1000 St. Augustinians.  It is also only around one acre in total.  Tolomato started with the First Spanish Period and continued to be used in the early Statehood periods.  The cemetery has people buried from Spain, Cuba, Ireland, Minorca, Italy, Greece, Africa, Haiti, France, and the American South and Northeast.  In addition, it is home to the graves of soldiers from both sides of the Civil War and Fr. Felix Varela.  

http://www.tolomatocemetery.com/ 

Exterior #1

Exterior #2

Felix Varela Bust

This statue is found in a mausoleum called the Varela Chapel.  Felix Varela was a philosopher, political activist, and priest.  He passed in St. Augustine in 1853.  

Felix Varelas Marble Tomb

Father Felix Varela's tomb is made out of Cuban marble, and you can tell based on the way it has aged and its texture.  It was requested that the marble come from Cuba to commemorate everything Father Varela had done.  Engraved on the tomb is "To Father Varela – The Cubans – Died February 25 of 1853." In the back, you can see the mahogany altar carved in the 1850s.  On top of the altar are two candle holders, and above it is the crucifix.  

Image in Conversation 1

The Alamo

Native American Burial Ground Under the Alamo

The fact that stuck out to me the most while visiting the Tolomato Cemetry was that it was initially a Native American burial site.  This reminded me of an article I read about how many Native Americans in Texas were upset that the officials did not want to preserve the land under the Alamo.  This land is important because it was a Native American burial site before the Alamo was built over it.  According to the New York Times, political leaders in Texas also wanted to dictate how slavery during the Texas Revolution was being taught.  This meant that much of Native history surrounding the Alamo would not be taught due to how strict (and incorrect) the curriculum would be.  This issue reminded me of the Tolomato Cemetery since so many generations of people completely covered up Native American history.

Image in Conversation 2

US Border Wall

US Border Wall

Back in 2020, during Donald Trump's presidency, the Tohono O'odham Nation was not consulted when their burial sites were being blown up for the US border wall.  Not only was this actively erasing these people's culture and ancestors, but it was also destroying the environment around the burial site.  There were a select few tribes that were laid to rest in this area that was being destroyed to make room for something new.  This connects to how with every new generation of people in St. Augustine, Native American history was erased and covered up with something or someone new. 

ENG 202 Passage

Floridanos, Menorcans, Cattle-Whip Crackers

 Poetry of St. Augustine

Nana Explains Life and Death

In the poem Nana Explains Life and Death, the author writes, "When I met Nana walking on St. George Street in my dream..."; this caught my attention because while we were in the cemetery, I was thinking about how many generations of people lived and walked the streets of St. Augustine, only to die and be buried unmarked and then have others buried over them.  I thought about the Indigenous people and how each incoming group of people erased and built over their burial sites.  Many Indigenous people who lived in St. Augustine have walked St. George Street (even if that was not the name at the time), only for some to pass away and become an unmarked name in the Tolomato Cemetery.

Creative Component