La Espigadilla

About La Espigadilla:

La Espigadilla covers 28 square kilometres south-east of La Villa de Los Santos, with El Ejido between it and town and Tres Quebradas further along the road. That road runs from El Ejido through the village and on to Tres Quebradas and Agua Buena, and 13 kilometres of it were rebuilt and reopened in January 2024. The works widened the bridges over the La Espigadilla, El Pueblo and La Vieja quebradas to two lanes, gave the cycle lane its own bridge over the Quebrada La Honda, and resurfaced the ring road around El Coto, the street beside the church and the road to the cemetery. The national highway to Las Tablas passes the edge of the corregimiento, so Las Tablas is an easy drive south and Chitré sits just across the Río La Villa from La Villa.

The village has grown slowly and steadily: 1,423 people in 1990, 1,580 in 2000, 1,675 in 2010 and 1,782 at the 2023 census. Its centre is the church of the Virgen de Guadalupe, patron of La Espigadilla, whose feast in December is the big date in the local calendar. The 2024 works also rebuilt the village’s two squares, the Virgen de Guadalupe park beside the church and the park in El Coto, with gazebos, lighting, paved walks, benches and play equipment. Banks, supermarkets and the Feria de Azuero grounds are all in La Villa, a few minutes up the road.

The name comes from the espigadilla, a small herb of the coffee family, though people here tell more than one story about it. Around the village the land is open Azuero country, cut by the quebradas that the new bridges cross. The district lies in the Arco Seco, the driest belt of Panama, and from late December to April the pastures brown and the streams run low. That is why a reserve water tank is a real selling point on a house here, and why a lot’s water supply deserves a question before its size does.

Most buyers here want a house with a yard close to town rather than a flat in it. Families from La Villa and Chitré come for the space around the house, room for a car and a few fruit trees, and a quieter street. The hospital in El Ejido and the highway to Las Tablas make the village practical for anyone who works on that side of La Villa. Finished houses and building land make up nearly everything that changes hands.

Houses in La Espigadilla:

Houses in La Espigadilla are single-family homes on lots that leave space all round the building. One recent example on the main road had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen-dining room on 841 m² of land, with its own reserve water tank. Frontage on the rebuilt road makes access and resale easier, though it also means traffic past the gate. When you compare houses for sale in La Espigadilla, ask how the house was supplied through the last dry season and whether the tank and pump stay with the sale.

Land and Lots in La Espigadilla:

Building land comes up both inside the village and along the road in from El Ejido, where lots of 600 m² and more have been offered. A lot on the paved main road, or on one of the streets resurfaced in 2024 around El Coto and the church, is simpler to connect and build on than one reached by a farm track. Ask where the nearest water and power connections are, and who maintains any shared access. Before you commit to any of the lots for sale in La Espigadilla, confirm the parcel really lies inside the corregimiento, because land on the way in is often advertised by the road’s name.

FAQ:

• How far is La Espigadilla from La Villa de Los Santos and Chitré?

  The village is six kilometres south-east of La Villa, on the road through El Ejido that was rebuilt in 2024. Chitré is just across the Río La Villa from La Villa, so the whole trip is a short drive. Las Tablas is reached by the national highway to the south.

• A lot is advertised on the road “toward La Espigadilla”. Is it actually in La Espigadilla?

  Not necessarily. Lots on the way in are often listed under the road’s name, and some of them sit in El Ejido or Santa Ana instead. Ask for the survey plan and the certificate from the property registry, check that both name the same corregimiento, and walk the boundaries to see that the fences match. Confirm too that the land is fully titled rather than held under possession rights, which still turns up on older family land in Azuero.

• Is water a problem in the dry season?

  It can be. The village is in the Arco Seco, and between late December and April the quebradas drop. Ask whether the property is on piped supply or a well, how it held up at the end of the last dry season, and whether a reserve tank is installed.

• Is there a hospital nearby?

  Yes. The Hospital Regional de Azuero Anita Moreno stands on the highway to Las Tablas in neighbouring El Ejido, a few minutes from the village. It is the regional public hospital for Azuero.

• What kind of property can I find in La Espigadilla?

  Family houses on lots of several hundred square metres, and building land in and around the village. There are no apartment buildings or gated developments, so anyone who wants a flat should look in La Villa or Chitré.