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In Pictures: Burying COVID-19 victims on Peru’s hilltop cemetery

The graveyard, on a remote hill outside Peru’s capital, does not have granite tombstones, a green lawn or paved roads.

Dayra Montalbo, 12, center, cries, next to her sister Valeria, 18, and his brother Carlos, 16, during the burial of their father Carlos Montalbo, 45, who died from COVID-19 complications, at the Nueva
Dayra Montalbo, centre, 12, cries next to her sister Valeria, 18, and brother Carlos, 16, during the burial of their father Carlos Montalbo, 45, who died from COVID-19 complications. Carlos Montalbo Sr died at his home after several calls from his relatives to the telephone number of the Ministry of Health, which they say never answered. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
Published On 7 Jun 2020

As the number of COVID-19 deaths in Peru rapidly mounts, the Virgen de Lourdes cemetery has become a monument to the pandemic’s devastating toll among the poor.

The cemetery is among the biggest in the world – with more than a million tombs – and it is located in one of Lima’s most impoverished neighbourhoods.

Now, with COVID-19’s escalating death toll, the cemetery is becoming even more gargantuan.

Those dying 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 graves.

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 honouring the newly departed.

Stray dogs linger, sitting alongside graves when relatives have left.

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 fighters.

There are children and teens mourning parents. One woman burying two brothers. Many of the victims are no older than 55.

Peru now has more than 170,000 confirmed cases with more than 4,600 reported deaths.

A funeral home vehicle carrying COVID-19 victims drives through the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A funeral home vehicle carrying COVID-19 victims drives through the Nueva Esperanza Cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. [Rodrigo Abd/AP photo]
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Cemetery workers carry the remains of Flavio Juarez, 50, who died of COVID-19, up the hill at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Cemetery workers carry the remains of Flavio Juarez, 50, who died of COVID-19, up the hill at the Nueva Esperanza Cemetery. [Rodrigo Abd/AP photo]
Cemetery workers shovel over the tomb of Romulo Huallpatuero, 50, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Cemetery workers shovel over the tomb of Romulo Huallpatuero, 50, who died of COVID-19. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
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.
A relative decorates with rocks the tomb of Adrian Tarazona Manrique, 72, at the Nueva Esperanza Cemetery. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
Noly Suarez holds a cross during the burial of her brother Flavio Juarez, 50, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Rod
Noly Suarez holds a cross during the burial of her brother Flavio Juarez, 50, who died of COVID-19. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
Relatives comfort a family member during the burial service of 85-year-old Lupicino Fernandez, who died of the new coronavirus, at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesda
Relatives comfort a family member during the burial service of 85-year-old Lupicino Fernandez. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
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An exhausted cemetery worker lies on the ground after carrying the coffin of Victor Gaspar, who died of COVID-19 complications, up the hill at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery, on the outskirts of Lima, P
An exhausted cemetery worker lies on the ground after carrying the coffin of Victor Gaspar up the hill at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
A candy seller waits for customers near empty tombs at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A candy seller waits for customers near empty tombs at the Nueva Esperanza Cemetery. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
Harpist and cemetery worker Charlie Juarez plays music as Gregoria Zumaeta, left, mourns the death of her brothers Jorge Zumaeta, 50, and Miguel Zumaeta, 54, who died of COVID-19, at the Nueva Esperan
Harpist and cemetery worker Charlie Juarez plays music as Gregoria Zumaeta, left, mourns the death of her brothers Jorge Zumaeta, 50, and Miguel Zumaeta, 54, who died of COVID-19. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
Relatives pour 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 Ph
Relatives pour beer into the tomb of Victor Gaspar, during his burial at the Nueva Esperanza Cemetery. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
Relatives of brothers Jorge Zumaeta, 50, and Miguel Zumaeta, 54, who died of COVID-19, drink beer and joke during their burial at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Tuesday,
Relatives of brothers Jorge Zumaeta and Miguel Zumaeta, who died of COVID-19, drink beer during their burial at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
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