Peru's dead mourned at barren cemetery
The cemetery on a remote hill outside Peru’s teeming capital does not have granite tombstones, a green lawn or even paved roads.
The dead from coronavirus here are buried on a hill filled only with dirt.
As the number of COVID-19 deaths in Peru rapidly mounts – becoming an epicenter for the virus outbreak in Latin America – the Virgen de Lourdes cemetery has become a monument to the pandemic’s devastating toll among the poor.
Relatives comfort a family member during the burial service of 85-year-old Lupicino Fernandez who died from the new coronavirus at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Cemetery workers shovel dirt into the grave of 85-year-old Lupicino Fernandez who died from the new coronavirus, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Relatives throw beer into the tomb of Victor Gaspar, who died of COVID-19 complications, during his burial at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A relative decorates with rocks the tomb of Adrian Tarazona Manrique, 72, who died from COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Tombs fill the Nueva Esperanza cemetery where a funeral home vehicle carries a COVID-19 victim on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
The cemetery is among the largest in the world, with over 1 million tombs, and it's located in one of Lima’s most impoverished neighborhoods. Now, with COVID-19's escalating death toll, the cemetery is becoming even more gargantuan.
The newly dead from the virus are being buried at a distance, in one of the sprawling cemetery’s most remote hills. Relatives and cemetery workers carry caskets up the steep terrain and place them in freshly dug pits.
Before one tomb, a man thumbs the strings of a worn wooden harp. Family members cry, collapse, and sometimes, let out a sorrowful laugh. Some throw beer into the pit, an ancient ritual honoring the newly departed.
Stray dogs linger, sitting alongside graves when relatives have left.
Adrian Tarazona and her mother Rosa attend the burial of Adrian Tarazona Manrique, who died of COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on outskirts from Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Known among locals as Nueva Esperanza Cemetery – or New Hope Cemetery – the graveyard was built in the 1960s and later filled with the remains of Peruvians who died after migrating to Lima in escape of a brutal war against Shining Path guerillas.
The cemetery has grown so exponentially in recent years that it has become a destination for international tourists, drawn to witness the area crowded with crypts, some painted bright pink or blue, set among the barren landscape.
Now the travelers are gone, only relatives, some in face masks, venture inside.
There are children and teens mourning parents. One woman burying two brothers. A man who has now lost three. Many of the victims are no older than 55. Many died quickly, lives interrupted by an unforgiving virus.
Gregoria Zumaeta, 44, cried and drank beer in honor of her two siblings, who died days apart, taking solace in thinking, “They no longer suffer.”
Peru now has over 170,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,600 deaths.
Relatives bury their 85-year-old grandfather Lupicino Fernandez, who died from the new coronavirus, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Harpist and cemetery worker Charlie Juarez performs while Gregoria Zumaeta, left, mourns the death of her brothers Jorge Zumaeta and Miguel Zumaeta, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
An exhausted cemetery worker lies on the ground after carrying the coffin of Victor Gaspar, who died from COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A cemetery worker shovels dirt into a grave of Apolonia Uanampa, who died from the new coronavirus, as the coffin of Demetria Huamani, also a virus victim, is carried to her burial site at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A candy seller waits for customers near tombs prepared for future burials at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Relatives of brothers Jorge Zumaeta and Miguel Zumaeta, who died of COVID-19, drink beer and joke during their burial at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Cemetery workers carry the coffin of Flavio Juarez, 50, who died from COVID-19 at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Cemetery workers shovel dirt over the tomb of Romulo Huallpatuero, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A street photographer sells pictures to the relatives of Adrian Tarazona Manrique who died from COVID-19 complications, during his funeral at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Noly Suarez holds a cross during the burial of her brother Flavio Juarez, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Dayra Montalbo cries next to her sister Valeria and brother Carlos during the burial of their father Carlos Montalbo who died from COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. Carlos Montalbo Sr. died at his home after several calls from relatives to the Ministry of Health, which they say went unanswered. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Text from AP News story, AP PHOTOS: Peru's dead mourned at barren cemetery for poor, by Rodrigo Abd and Franklin Briceño