Filled with local vendors and stores selling American goods, Barberena is a small town typical of the Guatemalan countryside.

Due to its close proximity to many rural communities, Barberena plays a central role in the local economy, especially as a point of exchange for agricultural goods and manufactured products.

On Saturday 8 March 1913, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit Santa Rosa, destroying its department capital, Cuilapa.

[4] Both the initial quake and the replicas destroyed a lot of private homes, and also the cathedral and the prison, leaving behind significant human losses; similar destruction occurred at Barberena, Cerro Redondo, Llano Grande and El Zapote.

[4] Around Cuilapa, there were landslides and road blockades, and even a long crack was reported at Los Esclavos hill.