Architectural Features

The fact that the inner courtyard is surrounded by three rows of vertical niches adds an important value to the cemetery. The dead were interred in the walls above the ground. This form of burial in niche walls was a common burial mode during the Cuban colonial time in the 19th century, comparable to the Italian cemeteries of that time, but it is likely that such a burial mode was mostly preferred due to the high groundwater level as the cemetery was very close to the sea. Cementerio General de Reina is unique in the country as this form of burial is the only one, preserved in Cuba from the colonial time. In the niches, there are buried people whose date of death dates back to the 1830s.

The cemetery also reveals the level reached by marble, cast iron and slate craftsmanship. Indeed, the bas-reliefs seen at the tombs and the ornamental cast iron works that surround the vaults are no doubt the work of subtle elegance. Actually, the burial should be carried out directly in the ground, like in American cemeteries, but Cubans had certain beliefs and taboos with this fact, so many did not comply with the norm and built vaults habitually. 

There are a noteworthy chapel (cuurently under restoration), elaborately wrought vaults, and tombstones, but the most striking feature of the cemetery is the large number of marble statues. These sculptures, which are indicators of the richness of the buried persons, add a very artistic value to the cemetery. Let's not forget that in the 19th and 20th centuries, Cienfuegos was an important sugar production area. Most of the ornate graves, we see in this cemetery, belong to the wealthy families who owned large sugar plantations. At the same time, it is possible to reach some clues about the history of the city from these tombs. For example, some tombs with symbols of the Spanish army belong to the Spanish soldiers that were fallen during the Cuban War of Independence (1868-1898). The dead of families with low economic status were buried under flat stone slabs in a separate section.

The most remarkable one among these exquisite sculptures is the white marble statue, called as La Bella Durmiente (Sleeping Beauty). It was erected in homage to Maria Josefa Álvarez Miró who died of a broken heart at the age of 24 on July 16, 1907, when her fiancee did not return from a trip abroad. Some say that the young woman died of cholera during the epidemics; others mention that she died giving birth. The statue is the work of an Italian sculptor.

The young woman is represented in her nightgown, leaning on a cross. It looks like a living maiden with wings. While holding a bunch of poppies as a symbol of life with her left hand in her lap, she gently crushes a snake with her right hand, referring to death. Her face is looking toward the visitors. Soon it became the symbol of the cemetery due to the beauty of the marble figure, the perfection and smoothness of its lines.