The Usaquén Cemetery – A Case Study about the Spacial Manifestations of Society’s Hierarchical Order

Beginning with an analysis of the spatial organization of the Usaquén Cemetery in Bogotá, this text proposes that the space of the cemetery functions like a scenario in which the hierarchical order of society is represented and reinforced. This order, however, is not admitted and interiorized totally by cemetery users. Through practices like the Cult to the Holy Souls the hierarchical social order is denied, in a cycle that repeats itself every week when this ritual is carried out. With the exploration of this case study it is proposed that investigations concerning social practices related to death are very useful for understanding the societies that produce them.