History of Posada San Vicente

The Cowboy of Antigua

This hotel is named after Don Vicente Rosales, who was one of the first businessmen in Antigua Guatemala. His nickname was “The Cowboy of Antigua”.

In the early 20th century, there were no paved roads in Guatemala, making travel exceedingly difficult and dangerous. People used to walk or travel on horseback (preferably with a gun) because there were bandits.

Vicente’s father, Don Gabriel Rosales Peláez, had a business right in the same house where this hotel is now located. Here, he had stored crops such as corn and alfalfa for horses and had built stables for them. It also had space for cows, chickens, and storage for carriages. Across the street, at 6a Avenida Sur # 7, he had a carpentry business where he made various types of carriage wheels, furniture, coffins, and carriages to be pulled by horses.

When he was 18 years old, Mr. Rosales and his brothers started one of the first services to take passengers to Guatemala City. At that time, the trip took 8 days. The roads were terrible and due to rainy weather, they were furrowed and full of mud. To descend the steep mountain trail leading back, down to La Antigua, they had to drag large tree branches behind the carriages. This was the only way they could break.

These early carriages were extremely basic and often uncovered, so those whoever rode them was exposed to weather conditions. Some of the earliest horse carriages were imported from the United States in the 1900’s and the coachmen who came with them into the country were introducing the “Wild West” style of clothing and weapons.

Later, Mr. Rosales built an inn, which was just a covered building with no walls, a simple accommodation for travelers to sleep near their livestock. Travelers were charged only for the food they ate and for the food of their livestock.

Many years later, the existing building was rebuilt and adapted to be a hotel and was managed by descendants of the Rosales family. In August 2012, the hotel management became part of a small hotel chain in Antigua Guatemala. Over the next few months, it was totally remodeled it and now it is a top choice for travelers on a budget, as has been the tradition of the Rosales family for almost 100 years. We decided to keep the name of the hotel to honor the history of the hotel and the descendants of the Rosales family.