May 15, 2020.
A gravedigger rests during the constant flow of burials in São Paulo during the coronavirus crisis in April 2020. Aerial images of Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America, were seen around the world at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, showing hundreds of open-air graves. The public focused on the victims of Covid-19, but little attention was paid to the silent army of gravediggers, last foot soldiers in a lost war that killed more than 200,000 people in the country by January 2020, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Responsible for burying up to 80 people a day during the crisis, the Vila Formosa Gravediggers have the lowest salary in the city of São Paulo, earning less than $250 a month in a job that risks their lives and their mental health. Alcoholism and depression are part and parcel of their work.
Names in this report have been changed to protect identities.
May 21, 2020.
"We suffer in silence," admits Luiz Silva, a veteran digger from Vila Formosa who says he and his colleagues feel a mixture of sadness and anguish at work. "We are afraid because we don't know if we will be infected too." Aerial images of Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America, were seen around the world at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, showing hundreds of open-air graves. The public focused on the victims of Covid-19, but little attention was paid to the silent army of gravediggers, last foot soldiers in a lost war that killed more than 200,000 people in the country by January 2020, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
April 21, 2020
Vila Formosa's gravediggers are usually Black men from the outskirts of São Paulo. Many commute over two hours from their homes to the cemetery. During the pandemic, 220 new workers with no previous experience in the trade were hired with precarious labor contracts to sustain the increased number of burials. "People see us just as someone in a white suit, without feelings, who are burying their loved ones. You become invisible," explains Luiz Silva, a veteran gravedigger from Vila Formosa. Aerial images of Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America, were seen around the world at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, showing hundreds of open-air graves. The public focused on the victims of Covid-19, but little attention was paid to the silent army of gravediggers, last foot soldiers in a lost war that killed more than 200,000 people in the country by January 2020, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
June 12, 2020
Aerial view of Vila Formosa Cemetery, which became internationally known after the explosion of deaths in Brazil. Large scale burials are a common practice at the site, where 40 people are usually buried every day. The pandemic accelerated and brought visibility to the tragedy that has always defined Vila Formosa.
April 15, 2020
Miguel Braga, 30, has held many different jobs: he has sold lollipops, cleaning products and car care. In 2020, during the Coronavirus crisis, he signed up to bury bodies in Vila Formosa Cemetery. "Someone has to do this," says Miguel, who was raised in a slum in the East Zone of São Paulo: "I come from a violent place, I always saw many bodies in the streets. This is part of my reality. My psychiatrist is a pack of cigarettes and a beer after work." Aerial images of Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America, were seen around the world at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, showing hundreds of open-air graves. The public focused on the victims of Covid-19, but little attention was paid to the silent army of gravediggers, last foot soldiers in a lost war that killed more than 200,000 people in the country by January 2020, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
April 16, 2020
Life is a battle for the 300 or so gravediggers who work in the state capital’s 22 cemeteries. Shortages of personal protection equipment such as gloves and protective coveralls are common in Vila Formosa. Aerial images of Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America, were seen around the world at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, showing hundreds of open-air graves. The public focused on the victims of Covid-19, but little attention was paid to the silent army of gravediggers, last foot soldiers in a lost war that killed more than 200,000 people in the country by January 2020, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
April 21, 2020.
Gravediggers work at night during the Coronavirus crisis to meet the demand for burials, which grew 40% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Sao Paulo City Hall. Sometimes the victim’s family has to shine their car headlights to illuminate the site for the workers.“The energy’s heavy. My wife says I toss and turn in bed. Sometimes I talk in my sleep,” says Miguel Braga. “But I’m a cool guy – for me, it’s a job just like any other.” Aerial images of Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America, were seen around the world at the beginning of the new coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, showing hundreds of open-air graves. The public focused on the victims of Covid-19, but little attention was paid to the silent army of gravediggers, last foot soldiers in a lost war that killed more than 200,000 people in the country by January 2020, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
