Architecture and Ashes. Cremation, its Spaces, and Cultural Heritage. The Case of the Crematorium at Pantheon of Dolores, Mexico City

Research article Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Architecture and Ashes. Cremation, its Spaces, and Cultural Heritage. The Case of the Crematorium at Pantheon of Dolores, Mexico City Ir a versión en español Índice / Contents DOI: 10.30763/Intervencion.312.v1n31.91.2025• YEAR 16, ISSUE NO. 31: 193-215 Submitted: 01.07.2024 • Accepted: 25.02.2025 • Published: 01.07.2025 Oscar Molina Palestina Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (unam) | orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7939-8851 Translated by Carmen Plascencia ABSTRACT An element of Western funerary culture that transformed customs imposed by Christianity was the introduction of cremation in the late 19th century. This practice disrupted traditions and gave rise to a new architecture whose ruling elements are the place of the crematory furnace and especially the chimney, which plays a fundamental role due to its size. This article1 explores the history of funerary architecture related to cremation in the Panteón Civil de Dolores in Mexico City and how it has been transformed due to the limited recognition it receives as cultural heritage. KEYWORDS funerary architecture, Pantheon of Dolores, funerary heritage, crematorium A preliminary version of this unpublished research was presented at the 9th National Meeting of the Mexican Network for the Study of Funerary Spaces and Culture, held from September 12 to 14, 2012, at the Archive of Letters, Arts, Sciences and Technology, A.C., of the Universidad Vizcaya de las Américas, Colima, Mexico. This work includes part of the report and an updated version of the work, highlighting the transformation of the crematorium area into the Dolores Civil Cemetery, which took place between 2022 and 2023. 1 Architecture and Ashes: Cremation, its Spaces, and Cultural Heritage. The Case of the Crematorium at Pantheon of Dolores, Mexico City CONVOCATORIA 2025 CALL FOR PAPERS 2025 193 Research article Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Índice / Contents INTRODUCTION he ways in which societies have treated inert bodies throughout history have generated a large funerary culture that covers diverse areas of expression, both tangible and intangible. In the case of Mexico, cremation was introduced to the general population in the early 20th century with the construction of the first crematorium at the Pantheon of Dolores in Mexico City. This article explores the history of cremation-related architecture at the civil Pantheon of Dolores in the Mexican capital, including the diverse proposals that were carried out at this pantheon, and the construction that was ultimately built during the early decades of the 20th century. It also details the replacements and modifications that the pantheon has suffered from the 1970’s till current times. According to my hypothesis, the continued transformation of this type of architecture shows the little interest that the history of cremation and its spaces has had in Mexico, even though it is an activity that increases yearly in urban areas. T From Burial to Cremation For the contemporary and urban society, it is normal to talk about cremation as a destiny for inert bodies. Yet, just over a century ago, this was not the case, as in the Western Christian world, the idea caused great animosity. Even though it is a widespread practice across various cultures —in Ancient Rome, it coexisted with burials (Retief and Cilliers, 2006, p. 134)—, with the consolidation of the Catholic faith, fire acquired a dual function: as a purifier and as a tormentor of the soul (Botero Bernal, 2001/2002, p.132). This transformed it into a bodily punishment for witches and heretics. Those who lived in accordance with Christian doctrine gave their body to the earth upon dying, thus continuing the Jewish tradition that informed the funerary liturgy on this subject. Unlike Hebrew and Roman practices, however, Christians remains were not buried far from populated areas, instead they occupied a place in the center of cities.2 The decisions made by the Catholic Church over the centuries to control not only over the soul, but also over bodily remains, led to the proliferation of diseases and epidemics, as the overcrowding of corpses inside and outside churches, combined with In Naissance du cimetière (2005) Michael Lauwers discusses the history of Christian cemeteries and their consolidation in the Middle Ages. Even until the 18th century, their structure reflected few changes. 2 Architecture and Ashes: Cremation, its Spaces, and Cultural Heritage. The Case of the Crematorium at Pantheon of Dolores, Mexico City CONVOCATORIA 2025 CALL FOR PAPERS 2025 194 Research article Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 ENERO-JUNIO 2025 JANUARY-JUNE 2025 OJS Índice / Contents the daily coexistence with people living in these spaces, fostered contagion. Problems caused by burials within cities had been discussed since the Late Middle Ages, but it wasn’t until the last decades of the 18th century that a proposal was made to relocate cemeteries to city outskirts. France was the first Catholic kingdom to impose measures to reach this purpose (Canella, 2010, p. 53). On April 3, 1787, King Charles III issued the Royal Decree mandating that cemeteries in Spain and its colonies be established outside populated areas. While this theoretically answered the sanitation problems, towards the end of that same century, amid the fervor of the revolution, the idea of reintroducing cremation began to be discussed in France as a method of treating remains. Meanwhile, in cases of epidemics and wars, cremation reduced the risk of contagion. In times of peace, this method was imposed as a secular option that retrieved the pre-Christian traditions and broke the bond between the Church and human remains (Canella, 2010, p. 162). The fight to confine corpses outside urban centers was still relatively recent (Alcaraz, 2010), and, although several sectors of the Church initially opposed this measure well into the 19th century, they gradually gave in to medical evidence. By accepting the expulsion of corpses and the creation of cemeteries outside the city walls, the problem of poor hygiene was apparently overcome, and the promotion of cremation was rendered unnecessary. This weakened the case for its promotion. However, deeper motivations in its favor, typical of the Enlightenment era, soon emerged: the separation with Christian traditions and the imposition of a new, secular, and modern order of life. Cremation fulfilled both aspects: it was rejected by the Church, which regarded it as a pagan and pre-Christian ritual, while the renewal of cremation through the methods offered by the era of industrialization allowed it to be carried out, not in the old ways, but imbued with modernity (Canella, 2010, p. 162). CREMATION AND ARCHITECTURE: THE CONFRONTATION OF THE NEW TECHNIQUE It was in the second half of the 19th century that crem (...truncated)