Colomba Costa Cuca

About Colomba Costa Cuca:

Colomba covers 212 km² of southern Quetzaltenango, which makes it one of the largest municipalities in the department. San Martín Sacatepéquez and San Juan Ostuncalco lie to the north, El Palmar and the Retalhuleu municipalities of El Asintal and Nuevo San Carlos to the east, Flores Costa Cuca, Génova and Coatepeque to the south, and El Quetzal, in San Marcos, to the west. From the town the paved RN-6W runs 10 km west to the CA-2 at the Las Victorias junction, which falls inside Colomba, and Coatepeque is another 7 km along the highway. The climb to Xela goes the other way, north on the departmental road through San Martín Sacatepéquez and San Juan Ostuncalco until it meets the RN-1. Guatemala City is 217 km off.

The municipality took shape in the 1880s on the old Reducción Agrícola de la Costa Cuca, first as Morazán and then as Franklin, before the seat moved to La Florida. On 26 August 1889 the new town was named Colomba Florida, and the date is still its anniversary; local tradition says the name honours María Colomba Barillas, daughter of President Manuel Lisandro Barillas. Coffee has set the pace ever since, to the point that people call the place Colomba Flor del Café. The fincas and smallholdings also grow maize, rubber, macadamia, cardamom, bananas and ornamental plants, and in town people make a living in shops, transport and workshops turning out furniture, metal structures and building materials. The fiesta for the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas runs from 12 to 16 January, and at Holy Week residents lay carpets along the streets.

The town gathers around the Parque Morazán at 1,011 metres, but the land around it is anything but flat. Deep barrancos come down from the Cerro Chicabal massif to the north, among them Chiquihuite, the Barranco del Chuva, Saquichillá and the Río Negro, and coffee is planted right down their sides. Some 45 rivers and streams cross the municipality, the Chuva area keeps waterfalls and forest toward the Lacandón mountain, and from high ground you can see the Santa María volcano to the east and a strip of the Pacific to the south. The rainy season is long and heavy, and on this terrain it decides things: landslides drop rock onto the roads and have cut into slopes in sectors such as El Mirador. On any plot, the bank above it and where the water runs off matter as much as the view.

Colomba had 47,544 residents in 2018, more than half of them in the urban area, which has spread beyond the old centre into colonias such as Primero de Mayo and Esquipulas. Almost everyone is ladino and Spanish-speaking, with Mam heard among a small minority. Outside the town people live in caseríos, cantones and agrarian communities, many of them on ground that once belonged to the fincas. Those buying are mostly families from the municipality and the rest of the Costa Cuca, looking for a lot to build on or a few cuerdas to plant, and they often pay the seller in instalments rather than borrow from a bank.

Land and Lots in Colomba Costa Cuca:

Land is most of the market, and it is measured in cuerdas. Around the edge of town and along the Colomba ring road, parcels of one and a half up to thirteen cuerdas are sold for planting or for a house, and lots of half a cuerda or one cuerda are sold for building. The newer gated lotificaciones come with paved streets, a perimeter wall, a guard post and water, drainage and electricity already connected, and they cost more than a bare parcel. Further out, parcels also come off the old fincas, around Chuva for instance, and there you may have to bring in services yourself. Many sellers finance the purchase directly over several years, so read the payment terms as carefully as the plan.

Houses in Colomba Costa Cuca:

Houses for sale are concentrated in the town zones, zona 2 among them, and most are block construction, many with a flat concrete roof. A family house here can offer four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room and around 140 m² built, sometimes sold with the kitchen furnished. Outside the centre the older stock is wood or block under corrugated sheet roofing. Ask to see the deed against what is standing, and check that water and drainage reach the lot.

Coffee Fincas in Colomba Costa Cuca:

The municipality still holds more than a hundred fincas, and working coffee fincas for sale come up from time to time. They are sold as going concerns, with the casa patronal, sometimes an old wooden one, a wet mill and dry processing, and hundreds of cuerdas under coffee. Value rests on the state of the plants, the condition of the access road through the rainy season and the water that feeds the mill, as much as on the area. Some estates also take in waterfalls and forest, as at Finca La Viña, or a lagoon, as at Finca Las Mercedes.

Rentals in Colomba Costa Cuca:

Renting is common in town, and many local families rent rooms or a small house rather than own. The rental market is mostly rooms and modest houses in and around the centre. Agree the terms in writing, including who pays for water and electricity.

FAQ:

• How far is Colomba Costa Cuca from Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango?

  Coatepeque is 17 km away: 10 km on the RN-6W to the Las Victorias junction, then 7 km west on the CA-2. Quetzaltenango is a little over 50 km by the departmental road that climbs through San Martín Sacatepéquez and San Juan Ostuncalco. Guatemala City is 217 km.

• What should I check before buying a lot cut from a finca or agrarian community?

  Much of the land here was finca or agrarian-community ground before it was parcelled, and lots are sometimes sold before they have been split off as separate properties. Ask for the registration of your exact lot at the Segundo Registro de la Propiedad in Quetzaltenango, not just the title of the parent finca. If the land belongs to a collective agrarian holding, find out whether the community has to approve the sale. Then ask the municipality about land use and whether it will connect services.

• Is the land steep, and does the rainy season cause problems?

  A lot of it is. Barrancos cut through the municipality and heavy rain brings landslides onto roads and slopes. Visit in the wet months if you can, look at the bank above the plot and where runoff goes, and check how the access road holds up.

• Can I buy land in instalments?

  Yes. Developers and private sellers often finance lots themselves over several years with a down payment. Make sure the contract names the lot number and measurements on an approved plan, and states when the deed will be signed.

• Do lots come with water and electricity?

  In the gated lotificaciones, water, drainage and electricity are usually in place before sale. Parcels further out may have a power line nearby and no water, so price in the cost of connections before you compare.