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Don
Eusebio Ibarra, the wealthy merchant and landowner turned into a legend
by Guatemalan oral tradition, illustrating stories and jokes about a
good-natured, naive, and outlandish character. Far from the myth of Don
Chebo Ibarra, there is a historical figure who, based on hard and honest
work, was able to position himself among the highest spheres of the old
Quetzaltecan society of the late 19th century.
Ibarra Castillo was born in the year 1837, not being able to specify in
which town. Some have attributed that he was a native of Antigua
Guatemala, others that his nationality was Mexican. The truth is that in
the mid-19th century his vast properties extended to Quetzaltenango and
Retalhuleu. His parents were Aquilino Ibarra and Cecilia Castillo. His
ten children were the product of two marriages, his first six children
being from the marriage with Perfecta Galindo and four with María
Barrios, his second wife.
Eusebio Ibarra, fotografía: Colección Luis R. Escobar
Ibarra was a multifaceted merchant, beginning in this field with a
modest company of carts pulled by mules to transport merchandise
from the South Coast to the cold land. Later he dedicated himself to
marketing wines imported from Europe and buying and selling
livestock, among other commercial and financial activities. Claudia
Dary, in her study "The figure of Eusebio Ibarra", the result of
several interviews with Quetzaltec personalities, writes: "It is
believed that Mr. Eusebio Ibarra was one of the co-founders of Banco
de Occidente. He is also considered an initiator of the hotel
industry in Quetzaltenango", the latter due to his large family and
friends who stayed at his properties, giving the impression that
these were hotels. The truth is that by positioning himself in a
high economic status, he undertook to buy multiple urban and
agricultural properties.
Among the notable urban properties, two properties can be mentioned
in zone 1 of Quetzaltenango: one where INVO initially operated and
another where the women's prison is currently located. Another real
estate was located on Calle Real de San Nicolás, where the Ibarra
Theater operated. They appear as their agricultural properties in
the Salinas Chapan farm land index, in Champerico, Retalhuleu. In
Costa Cuca, the Candelaria-Quimanquicuc farm, El Matasano, El
Encanto, La Soledad, and El Jardín. Our exonomic study will focus on
this last property, as it is the only one of its properties that has
fully identified individual files.
Don Chebo a caballo (foto: Fichas de Finca de Guatemala)