"When the niches fall, what will they do?": A Manacor resident denounces the poor state of Manacor cemetery

PalmIt is an incredible lack of humanity and dignity. That the administration does not want to know anything about it nor offers any effective solution in such a complicated moment, says very little about their education and their few desires to fix it. It makes you want to take the deceased to City Hall and have them deal with it", criticizes the Manacorí Andreu Galmés, grandson of a grandmother who this Tuesday midday was buried in the public cemetery of Manacor, far from her husband and far from family wishes, due to lack of security and the closure of the family tomb. "And because the insurance we paid has provided us with another one, because the City Council only offered us a niche on a rental basis, without ensuring that my grandmother's remains can return where they belong".

One day before All Saints' Day, tomb 37 of the municipal cemetery of Son Coletes, in Manacor, had to be sealed due to structural problems. The lack of continuous maintenance has affected the stability of the approximately fifty niches it accumulates, with the security dangers that an internal collapse of the sides would entail. This, which has been known for years, has reached such an extreme that 6 tombs in the local cemetery (in addition to an underground burial) have already had to be condemned by order of the City Council's Urban Planning department. That is to say, that within these spaces neither can be buried nor can relatives pass through, not even (in theory) to change the flowers.

Demand towards the City Council

Riera has already registered a complaint with the Manacor City Council complaining about the situation: "The response I have received from the councilors is that there are niches that do not have their papers in order, and since some are private, a list must first be made of who the owners are and whether they are up to date or not." This further angered Andreu Riera, a worker at the Manacor Hospital: "I think that's not the way. It's not a matter of parties or ideologies, but a cemetery cannot be maintained in these conditions, with years of abandonment without doing anything about it. That's why I have already sought legal advice to file a lawsuit against the City Council," he adds indignantly.

"What should we do then? We have all the papers for the niche in order, but no rights. Should we let time pass and have them fall on top of each other? And one day they will call us relatives to come and choose 15 bones each? That's not right. I feel like picking up the shovel and throwing it into the municipal offices." In the complaint filed with the municipal registry, Riera explains that after his grandmother, Isabel Domínguez, passed away on May 23rd, he was surprised when the cemetery manager informed him that she could not be buried in the assigned pantheon, because it was sealed and could not be used.

Closed by order of Urban Planning, neither the department nor the City Council as such have yet contacted the owners of the niches to inform them of a situation that took place on November 1, 2025. The Manacor Council explains that it has been due to the difficulty in locating all the owners, in order to demand that they take charge of the necessary renovation. However, the City Council, as the ultimate responsible party, could also act urgently until these procedures are completed, and then subsidiarily recover the cost of the renovation, which initially amounts to 125,000 euros.

"We have all the updated and correct documentation," remarks Riera, who now demands "an urgent, forceful, and written response regarding the actions to be taken" and the entire family's disagreement with the burial of Isabel in a niche (number 51) that is not hers, "for which she will not be able to rest next to the remains of her husband." "We have not received a solution and dignified, respectful, and humane treatment from the City Council for the burial of our grandmother," he complains, after having spoken with a series of municipal councilors.

The City Council, the 'streets' and the 'properties'

A few weeks ago, the councilor responsible for Son Coletes, Joana Maria Llull, acknowledged that “the problem doesn’t come from now. The cemetery is the great forgotten one, I know. There are tombs closed since 2012”, referring to private tombs, a small part of the total space. “From Urban Planning, each case is being studied individually so that, if necessary, urgent action can be taken. But the City Council can only act subsidiarily and if there is an imminent risk”.

“A very high percentage of the tombs in the cemetery are under municipal management, directly owned by the City Council. And therefore, it’s up to us to fix them”, acknowledges in contrast the mayor Miquel Oliver, who again emphasizes the responsibility of private owners in updating the ownership of the tombs. “Because otherwise, we find ourselves with the City Council, which owns the cemetery’s streets, unable to act on certain private properties, even if they want to take the lead”.

"I am very sorry, but common sense, education and respect must always come first, especially if we are talking about deceased people", laments an affected Riera, "I swear to you that you don't know how it feels, it is very sad and desperate to not be able to be at peace even after death".