Sacapulas

About Sacapulas:

Sacapulas lies 45 kilometres north of Santa Cruz del Quiché and 211 kilometres from Guatemala City. From the capital you take the CA-1 to Los Encuentros, then the RN-15 north through Chichicastenango, Santa Cruz and San Pedro Jocopilas, and down into the valley of the Río Negro, which is also called the Chixoy. In town the highway becomes the main avenue, and together with the market it is where daily life happens, a short walk from the park, the municipal hall and the church, laid out the way the Dominicans planned their towns. Westward, a paved road runs to Aguacatán and on through Chiantla to Huehuetenango, while other roads leave for Nebaj and the Ixil towns and for Cunén and Uspantán. The municipality borders Nebaj and Cunén to the north, San Andrés Sajcabajá to the east, and San Pedro Jocopilas and San Bartolomé Jocotenango to the south.

Most families farm, and the best land is the land the river can reach. Irrigated plots in the valley grow tomatoes, chiles, green beans, onions and garlic, and an irrigation system at Guantajau serves 1,840 farming families. Weaving is the other household trade, in town and in aldeas such as Los Trapichitos, Río Blanco, Pasaul, Chuvillil, Chuchun and Chicoxoy. Thursday and Sunday are market days, when the centre fills with stalls, and Tzununul has a market building of its own. Black salt, once the town’s signature, now comes only from don Max’s clay pots, and only in the dry months from December to March.

The town stands at 1,200 metres, some 800 metres below Santa Cruz, in a basin closed in by the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes and the Sierra de Sacapulas. Away from the valley floor the ground breaks into ravines and rocky slopes. Warm, salty springs rise near the river, and the old K’iche’ name, Tuhulhá, means steam baths. The rainy season is what a buyer has to plan around. The Río Negro and the quebradas that feed it rise fast: one overflow near kilometre 298 of the RN-15 swept vehicles away, and high water has closed the river crossing before. The pre-Hispanic site of Xutixtiox lies within the municipality.

Sacapulas is home to K’iche’ families, ladino families and the Sakapulteko, whose Mayan language is spoken nowhere else. It survives mainly in the aldeas of Río Blanco, Los Trapichitos and Paguayil, and Tujaal, the town’s name in that language, turns up on everything from the local radio to the fair. From 1638 the Dominicans ran one of the six convents they kept in the Kingdom of Guatemala from here, and the church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán goes back to the 1500s. The saint’s fair runs from 1 to 5 August, with the election of Rimial Tujaal, a parade, convites and a closing jaripeo.

Houses in Sacapulas:

In the casco urbano and some of the larger communities, houses are block with a flat concrete roof, one or two storeys, and that is where most houses for sale in Sacapulas are found. Out in the aldeas the usual home is still adobe under clay tile or sheet metal, on a family plot. Houses come up in places like Los Trapichitos and Río Blanco, where a four-bedroom home with its own cistern is a fair example of what is offered. Households are large, nine people on average in town and six in the countryside, so count rooms before you count square metres. If the flat roof is meant to carry a second floor one day, ask whether the columns were built for it. Near the river, ask the neighbours where the water reached in 2010.

Rentals in Sacapulas:

Rentals are almost all in town, and they are whole houses rather than apartments. At the better end, think one level, three bedrooms, a fitted kitchen, a pila and parking for two cars. Agree in writing who pays water and electricity before you move in. Then walk the street after a heavy afternoon rain and see where the water goes.

Land and Lots in Sacapulas:

Land changes hands far more often than houses. Plots come up around Chuvillil, and most parcels further out are farmland or hillside. On the valley floor, find out whether the plot has a share in an irrigation system: a parcel on the canal and a dry slope above it are two very different things to own. Some land for sale in Sacapulas, including parcels the banks resell, such as one in caserío Chuixocol, is held as derechos de posesión entered in the municipality’s own book rather than as a registered deed. That can still be a sound purchase, but it is a different thing from title, and the price should reflect it.

FAQ:

• How do I get to Sacapulas?

  From Guatemala City it is 211 kilometres: the CA-1 to Los Encuentros, then the RN-15 north through Chichicastenango and Santa Cruz del Quiché, which is 45 kilometres before Sacapulas. From Huehuetenango the paved road comes in through Chiantla and Aguacatán.

• What should I check before buying land near the Río Negro?

  Two things, in this order. First, how close the plot sits to the river or a quebrada and whether it flooded in 2010, because the valley floor is where the water goes. Second, what the seller actually holds: many parcels here are possession rights recorded at the municipality, and only a deed inscribed in the property registry gives you full title.

• Does the river cut the roads?

  It can. In the rainy season the Río Negro and its quebradas have overflowed onto the RN-15 and forced the river crossing to close for safety. If you will commute, keep a second route in mind and check conditions before you set out.

• What languages are spoken in Sacapulas?

  Spanish and K’iche’ are everywhere, and Sakapulteko, a Mayan language found only in this municipality, is spoken mainly in Río Blanco, Los Trapichitos and Paguayil. In town you will get by in Spanish.

• When are market days and the town fair?

  The market runs on Thursdays and Sundays. The fair of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is held from 1 to 5 August.