Memory, ‘myth’ and Martí/Colón

Many think hundreds of bodies still rest at the West Tampa site — buried beneath a road, sidewalks and stores.

TAMPA Bob Martinez recalls playing war as a child along Columbus Drive, jumping in and out of a dozen empty graves and pretending they were foxholes. It was the 1940s and the land was a neglected northern section of the Martí/Colón Cemetery, divided by Columbus Drive. “We never saw a headstone or anyone exhume or bury a body,” said Martinez, 85, the former Florida governor. “It was always just an overgrown area.” The block would later become a city park and then a strip center.

But people were buried there, by the hundreds. Many think the bodies still are there — beneath the asphalt roadway, the sidewalks and the 22 stores at 3115 W Columbus Drive. “It is more than a rumor,” said E.J. Salcines, 81, a retired judge, West Tampa native and historian. “It is almost like an accepted myth. Is it true? I don’t know.” Henry Echezabal, an 88-year-old native of Ybor City and retired survey company owner, said he has no doubt. To prove his case, Echezabal has spent 20 years amassing a collection of Martí/Colón documents: maps, death certificates, photographs, court transcripts and news articles. “A lot of people just say things,” he said. “I verify it. I have the documents.” Academics have pored over the research Echezabal donated to the University of South Florida’s Library of Special Collections.

FULL STORY

Reporter: By Paul Guzzo -- Times Staff Writer

Word Count: 1360

Publication: Tampa Bay Times

Section: A DESK