Santa Catarina Barahona

About Santa Catarina Barahona:

Santa Catarina Barahona stands above 1,500 metres in the hills west of Antigua Guatemala. It borders San Antonio Aguas Calientes to the east and south and Parramos, in Chimaltenango, to the north and west. The main way in is through San Antonio: from Antigua you head for San Antonio Aguas Calientes, follow its calle Real and continue on the local road into town. Local transport links Santa Catarina with San Antonio and Antigua. A dirt road also runs toward Parramos, but it is not the daily route.

The town dates from between 1530 and 1540, when Sancho de Barahona, one of Pedro de Alvarado’s captains, founded it as his encomienda, and the name pairs his surname with Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Its centre is still the colonial church, white with yellow columns, and the fountain beside it, where water spills from eight carved faces. Nine in ten residents are Kaqchikel, and the town has a name for its musicians as much as for its weavers. Women here work double-faced brocade, with the pattern showing on both sides of the cloth, and a single faja can take a month on the loom. The year turns on two dates: the feast of Santa Catarina on 25 November and Independence Day on 15 September.

People call it the land of springs. More than thirty springs rise in its hills and the water runs underground through the municipality, enough for the town and for part of San Antonio. Cutting trees around the springs is banned, and the municipal forest in zona 4 now holds the town’s recreation grounds: the Las Cascadas water park, refitted with heated pools and jacuzzis, the Senderos trails with a canopy line, and the Los Manantiales walk. Farming is the other pillar, with legumes and vegetables grown for local sale and for export and coffee on the slopes, while many younger people train as cooks and waiters for the tourism trade around Antigua.

Daily life fits inside the four zones. Zona 4 is the busiest, with the supermarket, hardware stores, pharmacies, bakeries and schools up to diversificado, and it is where the road leaves for the recreation centres. Shops and homes share the same buildings at the main entrance, around the central plaza in zona 3 and along that road. Colonia Chirijuyú, in zona 1, has its own school, an artificial-turf pitch and the cemetery, and is where most of the town’s growth is expected. Antigua’s shortage of buildable land has pushed new housing into the towns around it; in Santa Catarina that shows mostly as family houses and single lots.

Houses in Santa Catarina Barahona:

Houses here are town houses on narrow, deep lots, often less than six metres wide. At the small end are two-room houses with a pila and a patio off a private alley, or a 72 m² house with a bare earth yard kept free for an extension. Bigger family homes in zona 4 have three bedrooms, a back garden and parking for up to three cars. Several are sold with yard space left for later building, so check that what stands on the lot matches the deed and the municipal licence.

Rentals in Santa Catarina Barahona:

Rentals are whole houses let by the month. A common layout is two floors, parking for one car, an open living, dining and kitchen area, a laundry space and a guest toilet downstairs. Larger houses come up too, including one with six bedrooms and six bathrooms, which suits an extended family or a group. Some houses are also let by the night to visitors exploring Antigua and the villages around it.

Land and Lots in Santa Catarina Barahona:

Lots in town run long and narrow, under six metres of frontage and over thirty deep, with vehicle access on paved streets. Some already come with water and drainage connected and a registered deed, which spares you the work of bringing services in. Even town lots can carry a slight slope, and the hills ringing the centre are much steeper. Among the lots for sale in Santa Catarina Barahona are also parcels of several thousand square metres, and the land-use plan keeps farm plots inside the urban area of zona 3 and Chirijuyú.

FAQ:

• How do you get to Santa Catarina Barahona from Antigua?

  Take the road from Antigua toward San Antonio Aguas Calientes, follow its calle Real through town and carry on along the local road into Santa Catarina. Local transport runs between the three towns. Because the main entrance runs along San Antonio’s calle Real, drive the route at rush hour before you commit to a daily commute.

• What should I check before buying a lot in Santa Catarina Barahona?

  Start with storm water. In heavy rain the runoff has flooded parts of zona 4 and the fifth alley of Chirijuyú; dikes have been built, and the municipal land-use plan restricts what can go up in those areas. Ask at the municipality whether the lot falls inside the flood-risk area, and visit it after a downpour. Then pull the record at the property registry to confirm the owner, the measurements, any liens, and that the lot’s split from the larger finca is registered.

• Is the water supply reliable?

  Water is the town’s strong point. The municipal system draws on springs in its own hills, and zona 4 and Chirijuyú have piped water and drainage. When you buy, check that the connection is in the seller’s name and have it transferred along with the deed.

• What is there for everyday life in town?

  Zona 4 has the supermarket, hardware stores, pharmacies and bakeries, and schools run from pre-primary through diversificado. At weekends there are the Las Cascadas pools, the Senderos trails with their canopy line, and a lookout reached by 275 steps with the Volcán de Agua in front of you.