In the Americas, the practice came over with the Spanish conquistadors who came into the Southwest US in search of the fabled cities of gold. As the soldiers were killed or died due to exposure they were quickly buried and a cross set to mark the spot where the body lay.

Today the word descanso is used to describe the memorial marker found along the highways in the U.S. Descansos stand on the highway of a symbol of the cycle of life and rememberance.

In Penasco you can find many descansos memorializing local villagers who have died on the winding roads in the area.  Here are a few of them and a little bit about the people who died.