DULLARD CEMETERY

This cemetery has an international reputation. It's right in the middle of the village, the last refuge of the Blancs-Matignon. Built into the hillside, it impresses with its 1,800 earthenware-tiled graves laid out in a black-and-white (and sometimes pink-and-blue!) checkerboard pattern. The cemetery is cited in guidebooks the world over. According to historians, the first grave was laid in 1847, 20 years after the commune was built, by a family of Békés. Surprisingly, some of the vaults resemble small houses, and some were built by architects. From the farmer to the musician to the Béké planter, all strata of society are represented in this incredible place. But the most important time of the year is All Saints' Day, when each vault is cleaned and repainted if necessary. The cemetery is lit up with a thousand and one candles on November¹ and 2, because November 2, the feast of the dead, is a public holiday in Guadeloupe; families come to visit their deceased at dusk, with imposing bouquets of flowers. The area becomes very lively, with vendors selling bokits, pistachios and sinobol (for snowball, a popular syrup ice cream granita). Far from the gloom of metropolitan cemeteries, this splendid hillside amphitheatre, dotted with vegetation, continues to amaze all visitors.