This is what I guess you could call "Part 2" of my review for the "St Raymond Old Cemetery." To my mind, they were always 2 separate cemeteries. This 2nd cemetery is...obviously..."newer," and therefore...to me at least...less interesting, less fascinating, than the "old" one.
If you have a loved one buried here, the history of it, the "fascination" of it, is inimical to the actual purpose of what a cemetery is for. To remember, to mourn, to hope for something beyond the bleak limitations of death. Or to hope, if there is nothing beyond death, that the loved one in question is at least at peace.
If I remember right (it has been a long time since I came here), the 2 cemeteries are about a mile apart from each other. As you enter the cemetery, you pass a towering structure with what I remember as an engraving of the Virgin Mary on it. The New St. Raymond's is the quintessential urban cemetery, and you'll never forget for an instant that you're in the Bronx. There are some trees scattered here and there, and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge is visible on the distant horizon, breaking up somewhat the bleak monotony of row after row of similar, densely-packed tombstones.
What brought me here? Billie Holiday.
I was late in coming to appreciate her incomparable artistic brilliance. As a teen, I was always intrigued by artists I heard about who "lived on the edge," whether it was Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Lenny Bruce, Hank Williams, or...of course...Billie. I thought she was beautiful. In time, as I (hopefully) matured, I moved past the juvenile obsession with self-destruction and "living on the edge" and began paying attention to the unique music that was her legacy to the world. Every tortured, tormented moment of what she had endured in her life came through in every note of her songs. Without her voice, many of the songs are formulaic "pop" hits that were the mainstay of that musical era. With her voice? Magic. I wasn't a jazz fan as such (although I appreciated the talent and skill of the musicians performing it), but I responded to Billie. One soul reaching out, calling out, to another over the chasm of decades. That, to me (admittedly untutored and desperately amateurish), is the essence of art. True art. Art that becomes immortal.
For a long time, her grave was unmarked. Eventually, some fans got together and purchased a simple tombstone, with Billie's name and dates, as well as those of her mother. At the bottom of the stone, are the words emphasizing that Lady Day is "Always in our Hearts." As they say in the vernacular these days...true that!
The only other artist buried here that I was familiar with was Frankie Lymon, but I never searched out his grave. Maybe someday on another visit.
As with any cemetery, Catholic or non-Catholic, this is a sacred and holy place, a place of mourning, remembering, sadness and...for those who are religious...hope.
As someone who doesn't have any loved ones or friends or relatives buried here (not that I know of, anyway), and as someone who is not Catholic or religious (although I do go through periods where I would describe myself somewhat vaguely as "spiritual"), I would have to say that this is not a notably picturesque or historic cemetery, but if you have a reverence for jazz in general and Billie Holiday in particular, it IS a must-visit cemetery. read more