Under the slogan "We Are Also the City," the program will begin this Friday, October 23, and continue through the first weeks of November. The aim is to bring citizens closer to the history, heritage and curiosities of one of the most distinctive spaces in the Aragonese capital.
DON JUAN TENORIO RETURNS TO TORRERO CEMETERY
One of the most special events will take place on Saturday, October 31, at 7:00 p.m., when the Plaza del Voluntariado in the Old Cemetery hosts a staged reading of "Don Juan Tenorio."
Second-year students from the Municipal School of Theater will bring José Zorrilla’s classic to life, under the direction of Blanca Resano and with the participation of Marissa Nolla, Miguel Ángel Mañas and Lucía Reula.
The performance will be free, with capacity controls in place. Holding it in the cemetery, on the eve of All Saints’ Day, will revive the close connection between the play and the dates devoted to remembering the dead.
NIGHT TOURS TO DISCOVER THE CEMETERY’S SECRETS
Those who would prefer to explore Torrero Cemetery from a different perspective can take part in the night tours "A Visit to the Origins," led by Olga Larrubia.
The tours will begin at 7:30 p.m. and take place on October 23, 24, 25 and 30, as well as November 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15. These routes offer an introduction to the cemetery’s history and its cultural and heritage value. Although they are free, advance registration through the municipal website is essential, as places are limited.
Visitors can also independently follow four signposted routes dedicated to funerary art, notable figures, unforgettable women and historical memory. They will be available from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
MUSIC, STORYTELLING AND NOTABLE FIGURES ON NOVEMBER 1
Sunday, November 1, All Saints’ Day, will feature much of the program, with activities aimed at audiences of different ages. The music will begin at 10:30 a.m. with Coral Salduie at the Joaquín Costa Mausoleum. Half an hour later, at 11:00 a.m., the Municipal Band will perform at the COVID Monument, located in Plaza del Voluntariado.
At noon, there will be two more performances: Javier Callén Jazz Dúo, in the square next to Block 106, and Víctor de San Martín, director of the HECAI Choir, at the Monument to the Common Grave.
Children will also have their own activities. At 11:30 a.m., Olga Larrubia will present the storytelling session "I Still Have Something to Tell You," followed by a workshop for children aged six and over accompanied by adults, at Plaza Gumersindo de Estella.
Between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Teatro Los Navegantes will perform "They Are Still With Us...," an event bringing notable figures back to different locations in the cemetery, including the Ricardo Magdalena Chapel, the Joaquín Costa Mausoleum and Plaza Sanz Briz.
The day will also include a participatory activity entitled "Here I Leave My Fear." Attendees will be able to write their fears on a ribbon and tie it to the Tree of Forgetting, located in the Cemetery of Fears.
THREE EXHIBITIONS TO SEE THE CEMETERY FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
The program will be rounded out by three exhibitions, which can be visited from October 23 to November 2.
The audiovisual installation "Dust," by José Miguel Larraz Gabás, will occupy the Yarza Chapel, next to the entrance to the Old Cemetery. Through images and sound, the work reflects on matter, the passage of time and memory. It can be visited from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, "What Remains," a project by the Rumbo a Ítaca Cooperative featuring photographs by Chisa Antoñanzas, will be installed in Building A of the Mémora Funeral Home and Crematorium. The exhibition explores the traces left by the past and the cemetery’s relationship with collective memory.
The third exhibition, "Ángel Sanz Briz, A Life Story," will be located on the ground floor of the Seminary building, at 20 Vía Hispanidad.
The program will also include a talk entitled "And What Happens Next?" given by Blanca Fernández-Galiano on Thursday, October 29, at 5:30 p.m. in Chapel 1 of the funeral complex.
