jean revillard

In the Del Norte cemetery in Manila, 6,000 very much alive human beings survive next to the dead. In this 54-hectare plot where most Philippine presidents are buried, I photographed families, children and old people, ghost inhabitants who occupy the mausoleums of their own family, someone close or who rent tombs from Manila families. The social hierarchy also continues alongside death, since some families shelter in very crude vaults, while others lodge in very luxurious ones that belonged to their own family, often mine-owners. Today, these “rich” people are still considered privileged because their children work in delocalised call centres. It's impossible to know when this land occupancy started, but many old people were born and have lived their whole life amongst these graves. There is even a dialect specific to this unusual neighbourhood.
In 2010, the Philippine government spent 1.2 billion to move Manila's homeless to the countryside, settling families in farms. Due to the climate Change. Many inhabitants, however, came back to the cemetery. “Here, I have the most solid and the quietest house that could be” exclaimed an old lady. “It's the best lodging that I've had in my life!” Many inhabitants, however, came back to the cemetery. “Here, I have the most solid and the quietest house that could be” exclaimed an old lady. “It's the best lodging that I've had in my life!”