Cuilapa

About Cuilapa:

Cuilapa sits in the middle of Santa Rosa, in southeastern Guatemala. Nueva Santa Rosa and Casillas lie to the north, Barberena and Pueblo Nuevo Viñas to the west, Chiquimulilla and Santa María Ixhuatán to the south, and Oratorio and San José Acatempa, already in Jutiapa, to the east. The CA-1 Oriente runs straight through: about 65 km back to the capital, and around 55 km on to the city of Jutiapa on the way to the Salvadoran border. At the entrance, an arch over the highway welcomes drivers to the “Centro de las Américas”, a name the town carries because it claims the geographic centre of the continent. The old name was Cuajiniquilapa, from Náhuatl, and people born here are still called cushines.

As the department capital, Cuilapa lives on public service as much as on farming. The Gobernación Departamental, RENAP, SAT and the national police all keep offices here, and the Hospital Regional de Cuilapa in zona 4 sees more than 1,800 people a day. The Universidad de San Carlos runs its Centro Universitario de Santa Rosa, CUNSARO, from Colonia Nuestra Señora Consoladora de Carpinello, with evening and Saturday classes in law, business administration and teaching. Around town, farms grow coffee, sugar cane, maize, vegetables and the pineapple Cuilapa is known for, and local workshops turn out clay bricks and roof tiles, wood and leather goods, and baskets. The year peaks at Christmas, when the feast of the Niño Jesús brings processions and firecrackers and the Xinca community dances El Sombrerón.

The land is broken and hilly, with some thirty cerros, Cerro Los Esclavos, El Pinito and Cerro Grande among them, and eighteen rivers. The biggest is the Los Esclavos. Its colonial bridge is 75 metres of cut stone on eleven arches and only two metres wide, and for a long time it was the only way across, which made Cuilapa a stop for tobacco coming from El Salvador and Honduras. The CA-1 now crosses on a modern single-arch bridge named after Baltasar de Orena, a few metres downstream; just above the old bridge the river has fed the INDE hydroelectric plant at aldea Los Esclavos since 1966, and below it the water drops over a 25-metre fall. The town is warm rather than highland: average highs stay between 28 and 30 °C all year and nights fall to 17–19 °C. Just over 1,900 mm of rain falls a year, nearly all of it from May to October, while December to March are almost dry.

Just over 41,000 people lived in the municipality at the 2018 census, spread between the town and its aldeas and caseríos. The town is split into four zones: Barrio El Calvario and the two Valladares colonias in zona 1, Barrio La Parroquia and Colonia China in zona 3, Barrio El Llanito in zona 4. Newer lotificaciones such as Bella Vista and Las Victorias have pushed the edge of town outward, with Colonia Las Monjas and the university campus next to Bella Vista. Buyers are mostly families from Cuilapa and the surrounding municipalities, while renters are often staff and students tied to the hospital, the public offices and the university. Very little of it is old: after 1913 the whole population left for Barberena along with the department government, and it took years of rebuilding before Cuilapa won back its place as capital.

Houses in Cuilapa:

Houses in the barrios near the centre tend to be the largest, and four bedrooms, several bathrooms and more than 300 m² of construction are not unusual there. Farther out, in the colonias and lotificaciones, expect smaller family houses. If you are comparing houses for sale in Cuilapa, ask which zone the house sits in and how quickly it reaches the CA-1, because almost every trip out of town starts on the highway. Check too whether water comes from the municipal network or a private well, and how the street handles a June downpour.

Land and Lots in Cuilapa:

Lots come up often. Lotificaciones on the edge of town sell level residential plots with water, drainage and electricity already connected, some backed by their own well, and around 500 m² is a common size. Larger parcels close to town are also offered, and in the aldeas land is sold for coffee, cane and grain. Before you buy a lot for sale in Cuilapa, confirm that it has its own registered title rather than a share of a larger finca, that the lotificación has its municipal licence, and where the water actually comes from. Near the Los Esclavos, ask how far the river spreads when it floods.

Rentals in Cuilapa:

Renting here means apartments and houses in town, let by the month. A department seat with a regional hospital, government offices and a university campus keeps a steady stream of people arriving for work or study, and they tend to look for something close to work. When you look at apartments for rent in Cuilapa, ask whether water is included and whether the supply runs all day. A visit during the rainy season will tell you how the street drains.

FAQ:

• How far is Cuilapa from Guatemala City?

  About 65 km on the CA-1 Oriente, the highway toward El Salvador, passing Barberena on the way. The same road continues east to Jutiapa, around 55 km on.

• Why is Cuilapa called the Centro de las Américas?

  The town claims to sit at the geographic centre of the American continent, and an arch with that name marks the entrance from the CA-1. Some locals call it the ombligo de América.

• Is Cuilapa hot?

  Warm all year. Daytime highs sit between 28 and 30 °C, nights drop to 17–19 °C, and the rains run from May to October.

• What kind of property can I find here?

  Family houses in the four urban zones, residential lots in the lotificaciones around town, apartments and houses for monthly rent, and farmland for coffee, cane and grain in the aldeas.

• Where are the hospital and the university?

  The Hospital Regional de Cuilapa is on 4a calle in zona 4. The CUNSARO campus is in Colonia Nuestra Señora Consoladora de Carpinello, beside Lotificación Bella Vista and Colonia Las Monjas.