San Andrés Xecul

About San Andrés Xecul:

The municipality borders San Cristóbal Totonicapán to the north and east, San Francisco La Unión to the west, and Olintepeque and Salcajá to the south, all three of those in Quetzaltenango department. From Guatemala City the trip is 191 kilometres: the Inter-American Highway (CA-1) to Cuatro Caminos, then the road toward Quetzaltenango as far as kilometre 190, where you turn right at La Morería, in San Cristóbal Totonicapán. From that turn it is four kilometres uphill to the plaza, the last three on route RD-TOT-19. The departmental capital, Totonicapán, is 16 kilometres away, and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second-largest city, is about half an hour by car. Buses leave from the Minerva terminal in Xela; some stop on the main road at San Cristóbal, and a tuk-tuk covers the climb from there.

Most families here farm and keep a trade on the side. The fields grow maize above all, along with wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, fava beans, beans, peas and apples. In the workshops people weave cotton cortes and other traditional textiles, make wooden furniture, candles and leather goods, and fire clay roof tiles and bricks. The town centre has a permanent market, financial institutions and several shops and premises for rent, and Friday is the big market day, when stalls spill from the street beside the church into the square. Some families have relatives working in the United States. The patronal fiesta for Saint Andrew runs from 27 November to 1 December, with the 30th as the main day.

The town sits at 2,435 metres inside a horseshoe of hills that close it in on the north, east and south. The main aldeas sit up on those same hills: Nimasac on the summit of Xemuxux, Chajabal at the top of Cerro Pakotz’ij and Palomora up the slope of Chyatz’amb’al, while the hills of Pacajá Grande and Pacajá Pequeño rise inside the town itself. The climate is cool rather than harsh: the yearly mean is about 13 °C, January nights drop to 3 °C on average, and nearly all of the 920 mm of yearly rain falls between May and October. Forest is down to less than 300 hectares and keeps losing ground to fields. From the top of the Sendero Pakotz’ij, a stepped trail that takes about 45 minutes from the main street, the whole town lies spread out below you.

About 27,000 people live in the municipality, nearly all of them K’iche’ Maya, at more than 1,600 per square kilometre. Outside the town centre they live in four aldeas, San Felipe Xejuyup, Palomora, Nimasac and Chajabal, and in caseríos such as Tzanbaj, Paracantacaj and Los Tuices; Nimasac and the town centre are the largest settlements, each with around a fifth of the population. The church on the plaza, believed to date from the mid-17th century, is part of the national heritage and was restored and repainted in 2016. A smaller Calvario church in the same style stands at the top of the main street, with a Maya altar beside it where ceremonies are still held. Visitors come on day trips from Xela for the church, the Friday market and the viewpoint, but the people buying property are mostly local families looking for a lot to build on or a house near the plaza.

Houses in San Andrés Xecul:

Houses in the town centre stand close together on streets that climb steeply from the plaza. This is the only part of the municipality with a drainage network, which matters when you compare a house in town with one in the aldeas. A house in Nimasac or Chajabal sits higher up, on the hills that ring the town, but the road is steeper and services change from one community to the next. Ask whether the house is on piped water, where its waste water goes, and whether the seller holds a registered deed. When you look at houses for sale in San Andrés Xecul, walk up to the property yourself: a short distance on a map can mean a hard climb.

Rentals in San Andrés Xecul:

Most of what rents here is commercial: shops and premises in the town centre, close to the plaza and the market. Frontage on the streets around the church earns the most on Fridays, when the market spreads out, and during the fiesta at the end of November. Before you sign, agree in writing on the term, the deposit and who pays for water and electricity. Most visitors come and go in a day from Xela, so do not plan on letting rooms to tourists by the night.

Land and Lots in San Andrés Xecul:

In the aldeas, farmland is sold by the cuerda, the usual highland measure, and tracts of several cuerdas also come up close to the town. Near the centre, new subdivisions offer small building lots: at Paracantacaj, plots of 7 by 12 metres and 8 by 10.6 metres are on sale in a development with its own well. Lots this small leave little room for error, so check the exact measurements against the deed, find out whether the parcel is registered or held as possession rights, and confirm how water and power will reach it. On the hillsides, look at the slope and at how the access road holds up between May and October, when nearly all the rain falls. If you are comparing lots for sale in San Andrés Xecul, weigh a lot with water already connected against a cheaper one that still depends on a well.

FAQ:

• How far is San Andrés Xecul from Quetzaltenango and Guatemala City?

  Quetzaltenango is about half an hour by car. Guatemala City is 191 kilometres away on the Inter-American Highway, with the turn-off at kilometre 190, at La Morería, and four kilometres of uphill road from there to the plaza.

• Do all communities have piped water and drainage?

  Piped water reaches the town centre and most of the aldeas, but only part of Palomora is connected. Drainage exists only in the town centre, so ask how a house outside it deals with waste water before you make an offer.

• What kind of land can I buy here?

  Farm parcels sold by the cuerda in the aldeas, larger tracts of several cuerdas near the town, and small building lots in new subdivisions close to the centre. Check whether each one is registered or held as possession rights.

• What is the climate like?

  Cool highland weather. The yearly mean is about 13 °C, January nights drop to 3 °C, and the rain comes between May and October, with December to February almost completely dry.

• When is the town at its busiest?

  On Fridays, when the market fills the square, and during the fiesta for Saint Andrew from 27 November to 1 December. If you are viewing a property near the plaza, a weekday morning is quieter.