Santa Ana Huista

About Santa Ana Huista:

Santa Ana Huista sits where the western flank of the Cuchumatanes runs down to the Mexican line. Jacaltenango lies to the north, San Antonio Huista to the east and La Democracia to the south, and the last two meet it at cerro Ordóñez, the high corner of the municipality. Huehuetenango city is 90 to 95 kilometres away and Guatemala City about 355. The paved way in leaves the Inter-American Highway at Camojá, on the road to La Mesilla, and enters by Cuatro Caminos and El Tabacal, while the old mountain route comes over from Chiantla through Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Jacaltenango and San Antonio Huista. Upper-secondary and university courses, and specialist medical care, still mean a trip to Jacaltenango, San Antonio Huista or Huehuetenango.

Cattle, maize, beans and coffee take up three-quarters of the land, and much of that land belongs to a few large holdings. Coffee, maize, beans, avocados and limes go out mainly toward La Mesilla, Camojá Grande and the town’s own market, and the coffee and limes travel on to Huehuetenango. The border matters as much as the fields: people cross into southern Mexico for work, shopping and services, and by 2008 one resident in five had migrated, most of them to the United States. In town you will find a municipal market and a market day, shops, restaurants, transport, carpenters, bakeries and ironworks.

From the border the ground stays flat all the way to the town, across the aldeas of Agua Zarca, Cuatro Caminos, El Tabacal and Lop, and then it climbs east into low, steep mountains. Most of the municipality lies between 500 and 1,000 metres. The soils come from limestone: deep and fertile, but karstic and quick to wash away once the trees are cut. That decides a lot about building. On cleared slopes the ground slips in the rains, and in the valley the río Huista, the Selegua and the río Azul rise and flood; in the south of town, storm water pours off the hills and down the streets. The dry season brings the opposite problem, when the lagoons at Palos Altos and Las Lagunas that water the cattle shrink and drought becomes as real a risk as landslides.

About seven in ten people are ladino and Spanish-speaking; the rest are Mam and Jakalteko. The town dates from 26 July 1528, still its fair day, when the Convite and the dance of Las Máscaras come out. In December 1935 Jorge Ubico’s government abolished the municipality and made it an aldea of San Antonio Huista, and it did not get its status back until November 1950. Close to a third of residents now live in the cabecera itself, while Cuatro Caminos and Agua Zarca serve as small centres for the aldeas around them. Demand comes from local families and from households with members working in Mexico or the United States.

Houses in Santa Ana Huista:

Houses are concentrated in the town, where homes and homes that double as shops fill most of the built-up area around the park, the colonial church and the market. The town has drainage, electricity, street lighting and a health centre. Cuatro Caminos and Agua Zarca are the other places where a family house comes with shops close at hand, though their public services lag behind the town’s. When you look at houses for sale in Santa Ana Huista, ask which street the house is on: the southern streets take the runoff from the hills in a heavy storm. A house near the church also fills up in Lent, when many families still take in pilgrims.

Land and Lots in Santa Ana Huista:

Level ground is the easiest to build on and to reach, and here it runs west from the town through El Tabacal, Cuatro Caminos, Lop and Agua Zarca to the border. Toward cerro Ordóñez the land turns steep and is worked as pasture or planted with maize, beans and coffee. Much of the farmland is held in a few large holdings. Before you buy land in Santa Ana Huista, find out where the water comes from in the dry season, and on a parcel near the river ask how high the last big flood reached. On a slope, look for cracks and slumps that show cleared ground has started to move.

FAQ:

• How do I get to Santa Ana Huista from Huehuetenango?

  Take the Inter-American Highway toward La Mesilla and turn off at Camojá. The paved road carries on through Cuatro Caminos and El Tabacal to the town, 90 to 95 kilometres in all. The route over the mountains through Todos Santos Cuchumatán and Jacaltenango is longer and slower.

• Can a foreigner buy property this close to Mexico?

  Not everywhere. Under Article 123 of the Constitution, only Guatemalans by origin, or companies made up of them, may own or hold property within a 15-kilometre strip along the border, measured from the boundary line. Urban property and rights registered before 1 March 1956 are exempt. Have your notary place the parcel against that strip before you agree a price.

• What should I check on the title of a parcel here?

  Between 1935 and 1950 Santa Ana was an aldea of San Antonio Huista, so an older deed can place the property in the wrong municipality. Trace the registration history at the property registry, walk the boundaries with the neighbours, and ask the municipality whether the lot sits in a flood or landslide zone before you build.

• When is the town at its busiest?

  During Lent. Pilgrims arrive from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday to visit Jesús Nazareno, and the fourth Friday brings the biggest crowd of the year. The fair for Santa Ana, the patron saint, falls on 26 July. If you plan a viewing around those dates, expect a packed town.

• Is water a problem when buying land here?

  It can be. The valley is warm, the dry season is hard on springs and lagoons, and forest loss has reduced how much water the hills hold. Ask whether a lot has a municipal or community water connection and how it held up last dry season. On a cattle farm, see where the animals drink when the rains stop.