Julio Ruelas - Montparnasse Cemetery - Paris

This beautiful sculpture marks the grave of one Julio Ruelas, an artist from Mexico who died in 1907 at the age of 38 in Paris.


The Frenchman pictured below, apparently from the neighborhood, was amazingly knowledgeable about Montparnasse Cemetery, and made our visit there many many times better than if we'd not run across him; we asked him one question and he set upon giving us a personal tour and a hundred stories that were not in our guidebook.


I could have googled Julio Ruelas, for instance, and learned his nationality and his vocation and such, but our guide had a story to go along with the facts: In the early part of the twentieth century the gypsies, come evening, would encamp on the street just outside a wall of the cemetery; Julio Ruelas loved listening to their music and wanted to be buried nearby in hopes of hearing it forever.


I hope Julio's wish is being fulfilled night after night after night.