Casa Mañen, dates back well into the 19th century. The 180 year-old building was first used as one of the two City Homes for the family owners of a vast coffee plantation. After the death of the last patriarch in 1962, the family, anxious to encourage education in Xela, permitted the home to be used as a primary school until it fell into disrepair in the late 1980s. Many of its alumni still return to visit their old Alma Mater.