In 2016, a Puerto Rican Man’s Family Opted for a Non-Traditional Funeral, Propping His Dead Body on a Chair Instead of a Casket

Fernando de Jesús Díaz Beato, a 26-year-old man from Puerto Rico, was shot 15 times outside his home in 2016.

He died tragically, but instead of mourning his sudden passing in a traditional way, his family opted to contact Marin Funeral Home, a family-run business in San Juan that has specialized in unorthodox funerals since 2008, when a man named Angel Luis Pantoja Medina told his family that, in the event of his death, he wanted to be displayed standing up in his apartment.

“When he died, the family told us they would like him to be standing up,” said the home’s director Damaris Marin in an interview with Buzzfeed News. “We thought that it was a joke. Then his mom came to the funeral home and we realized it was serious.”

Since then, many families have gone to Marin Funeral Home to organize funerals of a similar nature. A page on Marin Funeral Home’s official website features images from all of their non-traditional wakes, which include a man sitting on his motorcycle, a grandmother sitting in her rocking chair, and a man dressed as Che Guevara sitting on a basketball court near his home.

The most recent of Marin Funeral Home’s non-traditional wakes was arranged in 2016, when Díaz Beato’s family honored his wishes by having him sit in a chair, holding a cigarillo, and wearing his own clothes.

Additionally, Díaz Beato’s wake was the first one to feature a body with its eyes open. He was propped up by a very specific chair, his mother’s, one that Díaz Beato, known by friends and family as just Beato, was not allowed to sit in while he was still alive.

In what can only be called a twisted turn of events, Beato was known for saying, “I’ll only be able to use it when I die,” in reference to his mother’s chair, which was always wrapped in plastic before his death. Dressed in his trademark black hat and khakis, Beato’s sister said, “That was his way of being,” adding, “We wanted to remember him as he was,” reports Fox News.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Marin said, “This time is different because he is seated with his legs crossed but, this is the first dead man in history with his eyes open,” adding, “I think that this time was the most impressive reaction to any of the work we have done.”

Unsurprisingly, Marin Funeral Home has attracted some criticism for this unconventional practice, and some have accused the funeral home of displaying bodies that don’t “look good.” Even still, Marin is happy to oblige. “They prefer something more traditional,” she said. “But if that’s something that the family wants, why wouldn’t you do it?”

Altogether, Marin Funeral Home has performed a total of nine non-traditional wakes between 2008 and 2016, but the funeral home, as far as we know, is still offering the service to mourning families in and around the San Juan area. Although Beato’s killer was never found, his family was able to find peace in their own way. “I don’t remember one sad thing,” his sister said. “I was very happy.”