Las Cruces

About Las Cruces:

Las Cruces fills the west-centre of Petén at 130 metres above sea level. La Libertad wraps around it to the north and east, Sayaxché lies to the south, and the western edge is the Mexican state of Chiapas. The town sits just off the road that links La Libertad with Sayaxché, and microbuses and rotativos handle everyday transport. From the centre a second road heads west through villages such as Palestina, El Retalteco and La Técnica to Bethel, where a border post and lanchas connect with Frontera Corozal on the Mexican bank. That western road is being paved in phases, and long stretches are still gravel that turns to mud in the wet months.

Before the 1960s this was a halt for huecheros, chicleros, pimenteros and xateros working the forest. Families began settling for good in 1968, among them the Hidalgo Mayorga family from the Parcelamiento La Máquina in Retalhuleu. One story says the first settlers found three wooden crosses while clearing the trail; another credits the founding families’ devotion to the Día de la Cruz. FYDEP wanted to name the village Miralvalle, after the cinema on the hill at its entrance, and the residents refused. Today the town is laid out in zonas 1 to 4, with barrios such as Nuevo León, the old El Zapote, and El Hospital, and the aguada del 5 that kept the first settlers going is still in the centre.

Farming pays the bills. Maize and beans share the land with pepitoria, sesame, watermelon, papaya, mango, citrus and nance, and many rural parcels are fenced pasture for cattle. The town market sells grain, clothing, hardware and meat, and serves the aldeas as much as the urban zonas. Spanish is the main language, with Q’eqchi’ spoken in a number of communities. The feria falls on 3 May, the Día de la Cruz, and in early September the school bands face off in the guerra de bandas.

The ground is low and mostly flat, which suits farming and does nothing for drainage. What is now zona 1 was once a laguna, and in October 2008 floodwater covered all of it along with much of zona 2, sending families to the school, the military detachment and La Libertad; the town flooded again in each of the next three years. To the west the land rises toward the Sierra del Lacandón National Park, protected since 1990 as part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Closer in, a few kilometres from town, the turquoise water of Cráter Azul is reached by lancha from the Arroyo Pucté landing past Los Josefinos. The people buying here are mostly from the municipality and the rest of Petén: families after a lot to build on, and farmers and ranchers adding land.

Houses in Las Cruces:

Houses for sale sit mostly within a few blocks of the main street, in zonas 1 and 2, close to the market and the schools. Some are modest family homes on lots as small as 12 by 12 metres; others are larger four-bedroom houses. Before committing to a house in zona 1 or the lower part of zona 2, ask the neighbours how high the water came in 2008. If you want to stay a while before buying, renting a room is the usual way to do it in town.

Land and Lots in Las Cruces:

Urban lots are the busiest part of the market. Single lots come up in zona 2, a couple of blocks from the Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta, and lotificaciones on the paved road, such as Lotificación del Valle, sell plots with water, electricity and gravelled streets, financed by the developer. Out on the Bethel road, villages such as Palestina have lotificaciones of their own paid in monthly instalments. Common sizes run from 15 by 20 metres to 13 by 30 or 15 by 40, room for a house and a yard. When comparing lots for sale in Las Cruces, ask whether the price includes the water connection and whether the street is already open, because those are the costs that turn up after signing.

Fincas and Farmland in Las Cruces:

Rural land is sold by the manzana and, on bigger holdings, by the caballería. Offers run from a 19-manzana parcel of flat pasture with a pileta and its own aguada, to a 72-manzana finca with a house, to holdings of several caballerías with a mechanical well and a casa patronal. In Aldea La Nueva, a one-caballería papaya farm comes with a 720-square-metre concrete warehouse fitted out as a packing plant. Water is the first thing to check on any of these fincas in Petén: a drilled well, an aguada that holds through the dry season or a stream on the boundary changes what the land can carry. Distance matters too, since a parcel 40 minutes from the centre on gravel is a different trip in October than in March.

FAQ:

• Why might a deed for land in Las Cruces still say La Libertad?

  Until 2011 this whole territory belonged to La Libertad, and older registrations, plans and tax records were made under that name. Pull the current entry at the property registry, check that the finca number and boundaries match the parcel on the ground, and confirm with the municipality that the property is now on the Las Cruces rolls. Many rural parcels in Petén began as FYDEP-era allocations, so make sure the land was fully titled and not only adjudicated. Toward the west, also confirm the parcel lies outside the Sierra del Lacandón National Park, where use and ownership are restricted.

• Which parts of town have flooded?

  Zona 1, built over a former laguna, went completely under in October 2008, together with most of zona 2 and parts of zonas 3 and 4. Smaller floods followed in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Walk any lot after a heavy rain and ask the neighbours how high the water came before you put down a deposit.

• Is the road to Bethel paved?

  Not all of it yet. Paving has gone ahead in phases, with work stopping and restarting, and stretches remain gravel that gets difficult in the rainy season. Bethel is the border crossing: lanchas cross the Usumacinta to Frontera Corozal in Mexico. If you are looking at land along this road, drive the full route in the wet months before you settle on a price.

• How far is Las Cruces from Flores and Sayaxché?

  The town is 71 kilometres from Flores by road. Coming from the south, you cross the La Pasión river on the Sayaxché ferry and drive half an hour north to the turn for Las Cruces. Microbuses link the town with its aldeas and the main road.

• What is farmland here used for?

  Cattle pasture, maize and beans are the base, with papaya, sesame, pepitoria, watermelon and fruit on the more commercial holdings. A parcel with forest cover needs an INAB licence before the trees can be cleared, so find out what you are allowed to do with them before you buy.