Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres

Panteón de Dolores

Main entrance to the Panteón de Dolores
Details
Established	1875
Location	Miguel Hidalgo borough, Mexico City
Country	Mexico
Type	Closed (1975)
Size	240 square hectometres (590 acres)
No. of graves	700,000
No. of interments	over 1 million

The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest cemetery in Mexico and contains the "Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres" (English: Rotunda of Illustrious Persons). It is located on Constituyentes Avenue in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, between sections two and three of Chapultepec Park.

The history of the cemetery goes back to 1870 when Juan Manuel Benfield, owner of El Rancho de Coscoacoaco (his wife was Concepción Gayosso y Mugarrieta sister of Eusebio Gayosso) set aside an area of his ranch measuring 240 square hectometres (590 acres), called La Tabla de Delores, on which to found a cemetery. In 1875, the cemetery was opened and named El Panteon Civil de Dolores. Juan Manuel Benfield founded the Cemetery in honor of his sister who died in Veracruz shortly after she had arrived from London with their parents. As they were Anglicans, and all cemeteries in Veracruz were consecrated for use only by Roman Catholics, the only suitable burial ground to be had was on the beach. Today the cemetery has about 700,000 tombs, many with multiple occupants.

The Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres (Rotunda of Illustrious Persons) is a site that honors those who are considered to have exalted the civic, national and human values of Mexico. It contains the remains of those who have made important contributions in the military, civic and cultural fields. Originally named “The Rotunda of Illustrious Men” (Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres), it was conceived by then President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada as a space to perpetuate the memory of chosen men. The decree reads “In this place of honor, the necessary land will be given free of charge to erect the monuments designed to guard the remains of or perpetuate the memory of the illustrious men who are decreed or for whom posthumous honors are decreed.” In 1876, The first person to be honored with a burial there was a soldier by the name of Pedro Litechipia, who died fighting against the empire of Maximilian. By decree of President Vicente Fox in 2003, the name was changed to Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres (Rotunda of Distinguished Persons, rather than Men) as the Rotunda has a number of female occupants. The Rotunda contains the graves of three former presidents, many heroes from the Mexican Revolution, writers, artists and scientists. The National General Archive shows 104 images of those buried there.