The Cemetery of Untold Stories

The first visitor permitted to enter the cemetery is Filomena, a quiet, middle-aged woman who lives nearby. During the week, Filomena lives in the house of an old woman whom she takes care of and calls la viejita (little old woman). On the weekends, Filomena helps to clean the church. Nobody in the neighborhood knows much about her, so they assume that she has no family or history. One Saturday, Filomena presses the button on the gate’s box and starts talking about herself, her job, and family, but the gate remains closed. She then tells the box a story that she told her sister Perla 30 years ago; this story caused a rift between Filomena and her sisters just as Perla was about to leave for New York with her husband, Tesoro. When she finishes her story, the gate swings open and Filomena meets Alma, the doña, who congratulates her on her story.

Filomena verifies that the cemetery is not for people and asks Alma how a story can be buried, and Alma asks her where untold stories go. This question makes Filomena wonder where her own story went when she told it to her sister so long ago. Later, the neighbors pepper Filomena with questions about her visit to the cemetery, asking what is written on the tombstones. Not wanting to reveal her inability to read, she just tells them that there are many boxes of papers. She does not tell them about all the voices she heard while walking through the cemetery.

The neighbors flock to the gate whenever Alma drives into the cemetery. They beg her for work, but she tells them that she only needs someone to be a general caretaker. Alma’s friendship with the artist Brava deepens, making her wonder what her life would have been like had her family stayed on the island. Brava provides a sense of security, joy, and acceptance. She reminds Alma of her younger self, back when she used to write for the joy of creation, before publishing success put pressure on her. Brava believes that Alma is still a storyteller, even if she never publishes another book. Brava and Alma debate the staying power of oral stories, and Alma points out that if stories are not published or written down, then they die with the storyteller. Brava counters that those stories get passed down, just like the ones she heard from her grandmother.

Though Alma initially planned to bury the boxes of her manuscripts, she decides to burn them instead in order to create a more final ending to her writing career. She enlists Filomena to help her. All of the boxes burn except for the one with her father Manuel’s story and the one with Bienvenida’s story. Alma feels that the two stories’ refusal to burn is significant, but she doesn’t know what it means. Sensing that these stories want to be told, Alma decides to dig holes and bury the two boxes there. When they finish, Filomena kneels and prays to el Barón, the god of cemeteries, who helps souls pass to the other world. It is customary that the first grave is dedicated to him, even if the grave does not bear a body.

Down the street at the colmado (grocery store), the shopkeeper Bíchan sees smoke coming from the cemetery and calls the firefighters. The fire captain issues Alma a citation for burning without a permit. Brava claims that the place is her art studio and asks to purchase a burning permit directly from the captain. Understanding a possible bribe, he sends his men to wait in the truck and negotiates. He asks for $40 in exchange for allowing future fires as long as a bombero (firefighter) is contacted each time to keep an eye on the burning. A bombero named Florian lives in the area; he knows Filomena.

The narrative shifts back in time as Filomena recalls her childhood. As a girl, she grows up in the countryside with her older sister Perla and their violent father. Though their father claims to own the land on which they lived, he does not have a deed, so they know that someone might come to claim the land. Filomena asks questions about her mother, who died years earlier, but her father gets angry and sometimes beats her.

When Filomena and Perla are 11 and 16, respectively, their father dies. With their neighbors’ help, they manage the farm to survive. Perla tells Filomena that their mother is not dead; instead, she has fled to the capital. Filomena is overjoyed to hear this and wants to find her mother. She remembers a time when her mother said goodbye and vowed to return, but Perla always told her that this memory was a dream. The two sisters are very similar in appearance, but Perla is a beauty while Filomena is more ordinary. Perla receives a great deal of attention from men, but she does not appreciate being told that she resembles her mother, whom she blames for abandoning them.

When elections are held, political campaigners visit rural places like Filomena and Perla’s hometown, offering free trinkets in exchange for voting for certain candidates. Though the girls are still too young to vote, they attend the rallies, seeing them as a form of entertainment. On the walk back home, some men call out to Perla. One asks if she has an extra heart because she has stolen his. Filomena stops to look at him. Perla glares at the man, who flashes her a dimpled smile. As Perla pulls Filomena away, Filomena can tell that Perla is just pretending to be angry. That night, someone throws pebbles at their window, so Perla grabs a broom to chase the intruder away and later claims that the noise was caused by a rat.

In the morning, Filomena hears voices in the other room. She realizes that the disturbance was not caused by a rat but by a man named Tesoro. He begins visiting regularly from the capital, bringing romantic gifts for Perla. Filomena also receives gifts from Tesoro, but she ignores them because she is upset that her sister now thinks of nothing but Tesoro. Filomena starts to resent Perla, who seems to be selfishly following her own desires. Now that Perla has her “treasure” (Tesoro) and he calls her his “pearl of great price” (57), Filomena feels abandoned and unloved.

Tesoro invites Perla to live with him in the capital. This surprises her because he has been evasive when she brings up plans for their future. Perla believes this move to be a step toward marriage. Tesoro agrees to let her bring Filomena to live with them, but Perla has difficulty convincing her sister. However, the promise of finding their mother moves Filomena to agree. On the way to the capital, Tesoro informs them that they will be living in his parents’ house with his three sisters. He tells them that the family needs help with the housework, and Perla volunteers her and Filomena’s help. When they arrive, Tesoro’s sisters and mothers greet him warmly but merely nod at Perla and Filomena. Perla introduces herself and attempts to hug her lover’s family, but they draw back. Perla is further disappointed to learn that she won’t be sharing a room with Tesoro; however, she understands that they may be expected to wait until after they marry. She hopes that they will marry soon, as she suspects that she is pregnant.

As Tesoro’s sister, Lena, leads the girls to their room, Perla overhears the women commenting on how young they are but saying that country girls are usually good workers. After Lena shows them their room, she tells them when her father likes his dinner and points out their uniforms. Filomena says that they have their own clothes, which makes Lena realize that Tesoro has not told Perla and Filomena that they are meant to be maids in the household. Lena confronts Tesoro about what he told the two girls. He lies, claiming that he only told them that his mother needs help. He does not admit that he lured Perla with hints of marriage but merely wanted sex without having to drive up the mountain. He tells Lena that the poor orphan girls are too proud to say that they need the money.

When Don Pepe, Tesoro’s father, finds out that Perla is pregnant with a boy, he demands that Tesoro marry her. Don Pepe was born of a maid who was impregnated by her employer, so he refuses to have his grandson suffer similar indignities and hardships. With Perla’s elevated status, the family allows her to move into the family’s part of the house. When her belly gets too large for her and Tesoro to have sex, Tesoro starts seducing Filomena, who is just 13 years old. She resists at first but eventually gives in, reasoning that in the absence of her sister’s attention, she would like to have someone who will love her back, whether it is a boyfriend or a baby.

Perla and Tesoro have a civil ceremony, which Tesoro prefers because it is easier to dissolve. Shortly thereafter, their son, José Tesoro Pérez, is born, and is nicknamed Pepito. Tesoro receives his US visa on the same day and leaves for New York a week later. Months pass, and Tesoro misses the easy life at home and the convenient sex with Perla. He learns that an easy way to get a green card is to marry an American. He proposes doing this and divorcing the person once the green card comes through. Perla doesn’t like the idea but agrees to it as the quickest way to reunite with her husband. Don Pepe finances her trip but insists that Pepito stay behind in a more stable environment until the couple is settled.

Pepito is four years old when Don Pepe dies. When Tesoro and Perla come for the funeral. Pepito finally meets his parents and a younger brother named George Washington. Now that Tesoro and Perla have their green cards, they decide to take Pepito back to New York with them. Filomena despairs, as she has become like a mother to the boy. In her desperation, she tells Perla that Tesoro seduced her until Pepito was born. Perla explodes in rage, and she and Tesoro evict Filomena from the house. After Perla and her family return to New York, Lena and her sisters beg Filomena to return to take care of their mother, who has dementia. She agrees.

Filomena buys a meager casita near the dump. Years pass, and Pepito earns a college scholarship. Filomena steals a graduation photo of Pepito. When she confesses this sin to Padre Regino, he pardons her and reminds her to keep her faith, which in the Bible is deemed a “pearl of great price” (67). The priest’s words remind her that, although she lost her entire family, God has given her the viejita (“little old lady,” Tesoro and Lena’s mother) to care for as she would care for her own mother. One day, the viejita dies.

The narrative returns to the present. The cemetery is mostly in place. Curious locals climb the walls to get in during the night, and Florian assists them by providing a ladder for a fee. Believing that the cemetery conceals treasure, the unauthorized visitors dig up the graves of manuscript ashes, stealing objects and even urinating on some of the sculptures. Word spreads via Bichán that Alma seeks a caretaker, and she chooses Filomena. The local people are mystified by Filomena’s success at gaining entrance into the cemetery; although she is practically mute around them, she tells many stories to the gate box. From Filomena’s stories, Alma learns that the viejita has died. Alma offers to pay Filomena more than her previous salary in exchange for doing general cleaning and keeping a watch on the cemetery. Filomena agrees.

Filomena is happy to start a new routine with her work at the cemetery. The locals tease her about her new job. Lena and her sisters complain to Filomena about the young woman who replaced her. Filomena muses that, other than Lena, Tesoro’s sisters don’t understand work. Lena occasionally tries to lure Filomena back, but Filomena doesn’t accept her offers. She believes that her attraction to her new job is similar to a religious calling and has worth on a spiritual level. Alma is pleased with Filomena’s work, and Filomena plants fruit trees for the birds to nest in.

Filomena feels guilty for being paid so much. She asks Alma if there is any more she can do, so Alma asks her to visit one grave per day, tasking her to sit and listen. Filomena has not told Alma that she hears voices rising up from grave markers. Padre Regino once told her about saints who heard voices, but she is not a saint, and the voices tell stories; they do not instruct her to do holy deeds. She wants to ask Alma more questions but refrains, sensing a sadness in Alma that she attributes to a broken heart or to loneliness.

Doña Alma has left for several weeks to sell her house in the United States and is due back the next day. Filomena has been getting the cemetery cleaned and tidied for her return. Doña Brava has brought in an architect to discuss building a little house there for Alma. Filomena has visited every marker in the cemetery, starting with the one for el Barón. She hears the voices, often catching just a whisper but sometimes hearing distinct phrases or distressed cries. As a precaution against possible haunting, she wears a rosary around her neck.

One morning, she hears a voice coming from the plaster head of a woman, which is the marker for the second set of boxes that would not burn. At first, she suspects that someone has crept in, but no one is there. After she finishes her chores, she brings her chair to the marker. The sounds from the head clarify into speech, and the female speaker identifies herself as Bienvenida Inocencia Ricardo de Trujillo. She warns Filomena not to believe any stories that she may have heard about her. Filomena has heard nothing of Bienvenida, though her father spoke well of Trujillo. Filomena tells Bienvenida that she doesn’t heed gossip. This placates the speaker, who says it’s a blessing to be viewed with love and not judgment. Filomena is curious to know why Bienvenida is so heart-broken, but suddenly, someone informs her that there is a long-distance call for her at the colmado. She assumes that the call is from Alma. When Filomena tells the voice that she must go, Bienvenida is distraught and claims that everyone leaves her. Filomena promises to return soon.

Florian accompanies Filomena to the colmado and alludes to a past intimate encounter with her. She allows Florian to believe that she habitually talks to a lover in the cemetery, rather than admitting that she is really talking to disembodied voices. Upon answering the phone, Filomena is shocked to hear Perla’s voice, as it has been 30 years since they last spoke. Perla sounds distressed; she plans fly to the DR and stay with Filomena, and she insists that her arrival remain a secret. Perla hangs up before Filomena can get any further information. Everyone in the colmado has heard Filomena’s side of the conversation. She tells Bichán that Doña Alma called before remembering that she cried out Perla’s name. She asks him to summon her at any hour if there is another call.

Filomena’s mind is abuzz with the idea of her sister staying with her but is worried about Perla’s insistence upon secrecy. She suspects that Tesoro is the cause of Perla’s troubles. Filomena doesn’t know how Perla got the phone number of the colmado; Perla has said nothing about Tesoro or about her sons, Jorge and Pepito. Filomena still thinks of Pepito as a young boy, even though he is now an adult. In the morning, she is in such a rush to prepare for both Doña Alma’s and Perla’s arrivals that she forgets to pray to San Judas.

Perla arrives at the airport and reminds herself to answer to the name Filomena Altagracia Moronte, the name listed on her passport and birth certificate. She wanted to change her name after her green card came through, but her lawyer warned that she could be deported for having used a different name when she applied for the green card. She has kept her passport updated, but she now has no credit card, and when she tries to pay with cash, the ticketing agent cannot take it.

While the agent consults with her supervisor, Perla reflects on how strange it is that after 30 years, Filomena is taking her in without a question, while Tesoro has turned away from her by spending so much time away.

Tesoro has often claimed to be working for Ramírez Town Cars or visiting a sick friend, but Perla has become suspicious about his frequent absences. Perla is also haunted by the story that Filomena told her about Tesoro molesting her when Perla was pregnant. The narrative shifts into the past as Perla reflects on her life in the US with Tesoro and her sons, Pepito and George Washington (Jorge).

Perla’s source of pride has always been her two sons, Pepito and Jorge. While Jorge is outgoing and interested in making money, Pepito is quieter and more bookish. Pepito was drastically affected by the initial separation from his parents and subsequent separation from his aunts, especially Filomena, but he adjusted to life in the US and became a good student and an avid reader. Pepito tried to teach his mother how to read; he wants to be a writer and wants his mother to be able to read his books.

Tesoro showed some pride in Pepito when the boy won a full scholarship to college. Pepito later earned a doctorate and a teaching position at a university. The university granted him a year’s sabbatical to research and write a book in Greece. He invited his parents to visit, but only Perla came because Tesoro claimed to be too busy. Upon Perla’s return, Tesoro did not pick her up at the airport and did not answer his cell phone. She realized that Tesoro moved out of the house, and his coworkers told her that he started a new family with Vitalina López, a young Cuban woman in Queens. Perla took a taxi to the woman’s home, carrying a towel-wrapped kitchen knife for protection. Seeing Vitalina’s toddler, Oro, Perla approached the boy and offered him candy, noting his resemblance to Tesoro. When Vitalina saw the green goo of the candy coming out of Oro’s mouth, she rushed out, fearing that Perla had poisoned her son. Perla intended to shove Vitalina away but forgot that she was holding the knife. The blade plunged into the boy, and Vitalina started screaming, so Perla cut her throat and that of the barking dog. Vitalina is not yet dead, so Perla stabbed her and the boy a few more times to make certain and fled the scene. She wondered what possessed her to do such an awful thing, then remembered a story from one of Pepito’s books. The story described a woman who fed her deceitful husband a stew made from the limbs of his children. Perla wondered if that story reflected something evil in her or whether the story put the idea in her head.

Pepito sits in a café in Aleksandropolis, Greece, when his brother George Washington contacts him via WhatsApp. The reception is bad, so Pepito only gets part of the frantic story before the connection drops. He learns that their father is a suspect in a murder and their mother is missing. George will fly back to New York and learn more. Pepito wonders if his father killed his mother, but he doubts this because he knows that although Tesoro cheats on Perla, he is not violent. Pepito has seen his father with many other women, all younger than his mother. He has not confronted his father because he is keeping a secret of his own: the fact that he is gay. (His father holds deep anti-gay biases.) His silence on this point bothers his partner, Richard. Now, Pepito calls his parents to no avail, then contacts his aunt Lena. She sobs that Tesoro didn’t kill the mother and son, although he is a prime suspect. Tesoro called his boss from jail, asking that he inform his sons and his family in the DR of the situation. Pepito calls Richard and tells him that he will need to fly back to New York.

The narrative shifts to Tesoro’s perspective, just before he is arrested for the murder of Vitalina and Oro. As Tesoro approaches Vitalina’s house, he sees a crowd and an ambulance, and he reflects on his most recent fight with Vitalina, recalling that she flew into a rage when he said that he was going to pick up Perla from the airport. In the face of her anger, he gave in and called George Washington to pick Perla up, not realizing that his son was travelling and wouldn’t get the message. His boss called him and told him that Perla came to the office and threatened to hurt herself. After yet another altercation with Vitalina, Tesoro drove away from her home.

Now, as soon as Tesoro returns to Vitalina’s home, the police arrest him and put him in a squad car. Tesoro reflects that he only stayed with Vitalina for Oro’s sake. Tesoro believes that Pepito is trying to hide the fact that he is gay, and he believes that his son is gay because he himself was not a strong father figure for Pepito when his son was young. Tesoro sees Oro as his chance to start over. He suddenly realizes that Perla was likely the murderer, and he vomits in the car. Meanwhile, Perla walks calmly down the street in her maid uniform. At her apartment, she burns the bloody clothes and towel and cleans the knife. She calls Filomena, who tells her to meet her at a cemetery when she arrives in the DR.

After a restless night, Filomena arrives to the cemetery to find that Doña Alma has returned and is discussing plans with the architect. Alma praises her work, and Filomena listens for knocks on the gate or door. She puzzles over Perla’s tone of fear and need for secrecy. She has heard Lena and her sisters whispering about problems between Perla and Tesoro in New York, but Filomena doesn’t understand this because she believes that they achieved their dreams; they saved their money to hire a lawyer, got their green cards, and have raised two successful sons.

Filomena remembers her promise to listen to the rest of Bienvenida’s story, but focuses on her work while Alma is near. She touches the plaster head at Bienvenida’s “grave” each time she passes, noting that the head feels like it has real hair. The architect tells Alma that the marker with a blown-glass snow globe will have to be moved. Later, Filomena reminds Alma that that grave belongs to el Barón, who will visit misfortune upon visitors if the first grave dedicated to him is moved without his permission. Alma responds noncommittally. Padre Regino has told Filomena to dismiss such superstitions as non-Christian. When Filomena tells Alma the stories of people who disregarded el Barón, Alma gives her a disbelieving look. Filomena goes to the colmado on her break, but there are no other calls for her. She visits Bienvenida’s bust, but it remains silent. When she touches the glass globe on her way out, she finally hears a chorus of voices.