There are many surprises tucked away in hidden corners of Mexico. One such surprise is an ex-sugar cane/coffee plantation near Jalapa that dates from 1592 and was originally called Nuestra Senora de los Remedios de Nexapa.
The history of this hacienda is both common and unique.
It was originally acquired in the 16th Century by a Portuguese named Juan de Quiroz who, with his business partner, Sebastian Diaz, constructed a sugar cane mill. The original wheel which drove the machinery is still in place today. At that time there was plenty of water which was a necessary ingredient for the processing of cane into sugar. The spring that provided the water power flowed through the property. The hacienda was situated at the bottom of the property while the processing area took advantage of the natural lay of the land that inclined downward. The hacienda was totally isolated from any towns and thus had to be self sufficient. Workers quarters, still occupies today, lined the road leading into the main gate of the hacienda. In 1592 the hacienda was officially registered under the name Nuestra Senora de los Remedios de Nexapa. Records show that in 1620 if was purchased by Luis Pacho y Mexia, whose name it still bears. Upon the death of Luis in 1639 the hacienda was sold several times until finally in 1840 don Jose Guiterrez y Fernando purchased it and converted it into a coffee plantation. The current owner, Marisa Moolick Guiterrez, is the great grand daughter of Luis.

In many ways the story begins with Marisa and here beings the uniqueness. Marisa grew up in Los Angeles but returned to the family home each summer. She recalls these days fondly, as times when she ran free through the land and house, when there were days of sun and rain, when she learned the history of what was to be her future. Marisa returned about 20 years ago to nurse her ailing aunt who was at that time the surviving caretaker of the plantation, her parents having died (her mother violently murdered). When the aunt died, Marisa, who had come to love the home and land, decided that she was the natural person to continue the care of the homestead. Since that time, her path has been difficult. She has had to deal with encroaching squatters, lack of money, and a former governor who appropriated most of the land that rightfully belongs to the hacienda. Marisa, whose blond features speak of her European ancestry, is simple in manner but forceful in speaking and has become a one person whirlwind dedicating her life to the preservation of this great historic treasure that hides in a corner of Jalapa. She tells of how Santa Ana passed through here to have meals with her great grandparents on his way into the city of Jalapa and how today the current governor of the state of Veracruz also comes to dinner. She gives tours of the chapel where most of her founding relatives are buried. She shows off the painting which depicts the first 12 children born to her great grandparents when they were living in the hacienda. She walks every inch of the grounds explaining the process that was used in times of sugar cane and now in coffee. She worries over every coffee plant that wilts in the heat and the changing climate that leaves the earth parched when traditionally heavy rains have fallen. She greets each person that walks thought the public path that cuts across the property and recites every life story.
Almost single handedly Marisa is fighting to preserve, almost as a living museum, one of the most historic architectural legacies of Veracruz’s agricultural past: a past that saw the turbulent times of the Reformation, the rich era of Porfiriano, and the transformation of the County during the Revolution. Through out all these times, the family held itself together, surviving as best they could. It seems only fair that the Hacienda Pacho Nuevo take its place in Veracruz as a National Historic Monument, a designation conferred upon it by the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

A highlight of any stay in the Jalapa area would be a tour of this impressive hacienda. If you would like to arrange such a tour please contact this editor.