Granados

About Granados:

Granados covers 248 square kilometres in the south-west corner of Baja Verapaz. Rabinal and Cubulco lie to the north and Santa Cruz El Chol to the east, San Martín Jilotepeque and Pachalum close it in on the west, and the Motagua marks the southern edge against San Juan Sacatepéquez, San Raymundo and Chuarrancho. The RN-5 is the spine of the municipality: from San Juan it drops to the river, crosses at the aldea of Concuá on a modular steel bridge that road crews have had to repair more than once, and climbs about 45 kilometres in all to the town. Heading north, the same road carries on through El Chol to Rabinal, but only 40 of the 64 kilometres to Salamá are paved, mostly on the Rabinal side, and the dirt stretches can stop a two-wheel-drive car in the rainy season. Out to the aldeas people travel by bus, microbus, pick-up, tuk-tuk and motorbike.

Around 15,000 people live in Granados, and more than nine in ten of them live outside the town. The cabecera has schools through to diversificado, a CAP health centre and banks, and its market day is Monday; Ixchel trades on Tuesday, and Saltán on Sunday, when sellers come over from Pachalum. Saltán, 15.5 kilometres from town and paved almost all the way, is the second centre of the municipality. Farming pays most of the bills: maize and beans everywhere, snow peas, French beans and tomato for export buyers, hibiscus, tamarind, mango and Persian lime on the lower ground, and cattle around Las Ánimas. Marble is quarried at Saltán and El Guapinol, and the hills have also given feldspar, quartz and graphite. Being the nearest town in the department to the capital cuts both ways, and many young people leave for work in Guatemala City.

The land falls from 2,400 metres on the crest of the Sierra de Chuacús, along the Cubulco line, to 600 metres on the Motagua, and nearly all of it is broken, sloping ground. That drop decides what a parcel is good for. Around Ixchel, Cabrera and Granadillas the cooler slopes carry coffee, avocado, snow peas, granadilla and peaches, and the El Pastor waterfall pulls in day visitors. Down in the hot, dry Motagua basin, which is part of the Dry Corridor, the cash crops are hibiscus, tamarind and mango, and a long mid-summer drought can wipe out a maize harvest. Water is the other limit. Many springs belong to community committees, and the Río Agua Caliente on the eastern boundary is shared with El Chol, which already pipes water from it. In the dry months the Motagua runs clear at Concuá, and families come down to the river and its small balnearios.

Until January 1893 the town was called El Rodeo. That month the government folded the old municipality of Saltán into it, renamed it after the liberal president Miguel García Granados, and ordered its land shared out among the residents in lots, with some kept back for communal work and each lot to be certified by the municipality for registration. The Cristo Negro feria runs from 12 to 15 January, San Pedro is celebrated on 29 June, and between 30 April and 4 May the Santa Cruz dances go from house to house. People also come for the quiet and for the jamaica and tamarind refrescos the town is known for. Buyers are mostly local families, and the town is growing at its edges: Potrero Grande, two kilometres down the RN-5, and El Guapinol already function as urban neighbourhoods although both are still classed as rural.

Houses in Granados:

Houses for sale are owner-built family homes in the town and in aldeas such as Llano Grande, where one recent offer stood in the caserío of Casas Viejas. Nearly all of the local housing shortfall is about quality rather than numbers, which means many homes need a better roof, floor or walls more than they need replacing. When you look at houses for sale in Granados, judge the building as well as the plot, ask whether the water comes from the municipal system or a community committee, and check how far the house sits from the paved road.

Land and Lots in Granados:

Lots are the busiest part of the market. In Potrero Grande, on the RN-5 just outside town, 10-by-20-metre lots come with water, electricity, registered deeds and a view across the valley, and in Las Dantas families sell plots of around 220 square metres as well as larger 20-by-20 pieces. Other parcels are sold with a stream running through them, which helps a garden but needs checking for flood margin. The municipal land-use plan marks out areas for urban expansion around the town, so ask the municipality how a lot is classed before you pay for it.

Fincas in Granados:

Larger rural properties change hands too, and they are measured in manzanas. Offers have included 21 manzanas of flat and gently rolling pasture with two springs, three kilometres off the main road, and a 48-manzana finca on the RN-5 side carrying 35-year-old pine. Up the slopes a finca means coffee, avocado or vegetables; down by the Motagua it means cattle, hibiscus or fruit trees. Walk the boundaries, find out who else draws water from the springs, and drive the access in the wet months before you agree a price.

FAQ:

• How do I get to Granados from Guatemala City?

  Drive to San Juan Sacatepéquez and take the RN-5 north, down to the Motagua at Concuá and up to the town, 76 kilometres in all. The river crossing is a modular bridge that has needed repairs, so check its state before a trip in the rainy season.

• Is Granados well connected to the rest of Baja Verapaz?

  Less than to the capital. Salamá is 64 kilometres away by way of El Chol and Rabinal, and only 40 of them are paved, mostly on the Rabinal side. The unpaved stretches can be impassable for an ordinary car in the wet season, so most errands that need a department office mean a long drive.

• What should I check on title and land use before buying in Granados?

  The town’s land was handed out in lots by government decree in 1893, part was held back for communal use, and today some springs and land are still run by community committees. Make sure the parcel is registered as its own finca at the property registry, not just held under a municipal or family document, and that its water source is not communal. Ask the municipality how the land-use plan classifies it, especially near the Motagua or the Agua Caliente, where riverbanks are protected.

• Does it matter whether the land is high or low?

  A great deal. The upper aldeas around Ixchel and Cabrera are cooler and grow coffee, avocado, snow peas, granadilla and peaches. The lower ground near the Motagua is hot and dry, suited to hibiscus, tamarind, mango, lime and cattle, and more exposed to drought.

• When are the town’s main festivities?

  The feria of the Cristo Negro de Granados runs from 12 to 15 January, and San Pedro, patron of the town, is celebrated on 29 June. The Santa Cruz dances take place from 30 April to 4 May.