The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest cemetery in Mexico and contains the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres (English: Circle of Illustrious Persons). It is located on Avenida Constituyentes in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, between sections two and three of Chapultepec Park.^[1]

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 Dolores, on which he intended to establish a cemetery. In 1875, the cemetery was opened and named El Panteón 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, England 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.^[2]

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 graves of those who have made important contributions in the military, civic and cultural fields.^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[3] The Rotunda contains the graves of three former presidents, many heroes from the Mexican Revolution, writers, artists and scientists.^[2] The National General Archive shows 104 images of those buried there.^[3]

Generally considered the largest cemetery in Latin America,^[4] the most serious problem at the cemetery is limited space. No new grave sites have been established since 1975, and only those individuals who have purchased a site in-perpetuity, prior to 1977, can bury relatives in the cemetery; however, the remains must be stacked above those who are already interred. Municipal laws permit a maximum of five bodies to be buried in the same plot, yet some tombs may have as many as ten buried on top of each other.^[2]

The cemetery is working to encourage the acceptance and practice of cremation as an acceptable alternative. The crowded cemetery, along with the desires of many to be interred there, has created a higher demand for exhumations as well as cremation services. The cemetery has four crematoria, averaging about four cremations daily. However, an average of ten traditional burials are still performed each day, all in graves that have been used previously.^[2]

The cemetery is listed with National Institute of Anthropology and History as an historical monument, due to the many iconic persons interred there and the old age of the property.^[5] However, this status has not kept the cemetery in good repair. There are problems with maintenance as well as security. In the back part of the cemetery, in a gully, workers have discarded old caskets and urns that are considered unusable. Those who work in the cemetery bear witness or can attest to graverobbing for artistic and archaeologically-significant pieces.^[4]

In January 2009, a section of the original south-side retaining wall that was built in the 19th century crumbled and fell, damaging a number of graves in the process. This section was over 1 km long and 4 meters high.^[5] Rehabilitation work had been scheduled for September 2008, at a cost of 10 million pesos, with a focus of making the cemetery more dignified for visitors, including the remodeling of the main entrance on Constituyentes Avenue.^[4]

The following is the list of people currently interred at the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons:^[6]

• Cemeteries in Mexico
• Parks in Mexico City
• Rotonda de Hombres Ilustres — similar style monument in city of Chihuahua, México.