My Roots, the History of Mexico

The unknown Gallegos’ of history

Like most people in Mexico we knew little to nothing of our family history. It seemed like out of a necessity to survive, people lived in the moment and could care less about where we came from and my family was no different. Family histories became lost over time and only vague rumors perpetuated down generation to generation. There are countless Gallegos’ living throughout Latin America today. As far as the last name goes, it originates from Galicia, in Spain. However, the name itself is widely dispersed throughout Spain, as well. This is partly in due to recolonization efforts during the 780 period of the ‘la Reconquista’ whereby they tried to eliminate muslims (Moors) out of the Iberian peninsula. Many peasant families from Galicia in northern Spain (above Portugal) were sent across to different cities to occupy and repopulate them. It’s important to note that the people from this region in themselves have been colonized by everyone from the Celts (known to them as Gauls) and Romans to the Visigoths. Likewise, the boundaries of cultures and political lines seemed to interchange, mix and completely reorder themselves into something completely new every 100 or so years. Similarly, waves of immigrates (post-117CE) seemed completely fluid in between European territories and so many different ethnic groups became assimilated to the region prior to 1492. 

This is about all I knew of the Gallegos name. Last year, around this time, I decided to take a DNA test just to see what my background could possibly consist of. I was raised as a mestizo-Mexican, of mixed European and indigenous roots. And of course, the DNA test showed clearly exactly what I was led to believe my entire life, that I was of both indigenous and European heritage. On average, most Mexicans have anywhere from 30-40% indigenous blood, 4-10% African, and the rest European Spanish, which is exactly what the results showed…I was, just like any other Mexican, which was beautiful to me. I really wanted to know more about my family, but the information was completely unknown to us. That was, until my uncle handed me a piece of paper with some names and years scribbled on it. Apparently, he had been researching our family history for some time and had a general outline. With this information in hand, I then began putting together all the pieces of the puzzle together. And in the end I knew I had something remarkable that tied together all these historical events that were representative of me and my background. There’s something beautiful about being able to tie in yourself to all these historical events of the time and knowing that some distant relative played a part in history. 

The Gallegos of Sevilla

As far as I could decipher, there were two main Gallegos linages that ended up in what is present day Aguascalientes, both which intersected at the same time within the area of Teocaltiche, Nueva Galicia (or what is now, Jalisco) a once booming frontier, which I will address more later on. The lineage of which my namesake originated came from what is now Guanajuato, and slowly moved to Teocaltiche before moving over to present-day Aguascalientes. There was however, another Gallegos lineage that directly played a part in many of the historical events during and after the conquest of Mexico. 

On both my grandparents lineages (fathers side), I ended with a Beatríz Gallegos and Juan de Escobar. As far as I can trace back there was a family of Gallegos’ living in Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain prior to 1492. Beatríz Gallegos (born around 1491), had two sons, Hernando Martel and Rodrigo Gallegos. The family crossed the Atlantic Ocean and into Mexico in 1538. Hernando Martel (born around 1515) unfortunately became a conquistador on behalf of the Spanish crown. He fought in what is known as the Mixtón War, fighting against indigenous Chichimecan/Caxcan for the new territories called ‘Nueva Galicia’. Hernando later had a son, Hernando Gallegos, who would later become mayor of the newly founded town of Teocaltiche.

Hernando’s brother Rodrigo joined the Dominican Order and later joined two other brothers (also Gallegos’ relatives from Sevilla) in the infamous ‘Hernando de Soto expedition’ to explore what is now Florida and the southern United States. The two brothers were Baltazar and Juan Gallegos. Juan, also a priest in the Dominican Order, died during the expedition. Baltasar was personally chosen by de Soto to serve as field marshal/captain on the expedition. After the death of de Soto they survived by dressing in animal skins and walking back to Tenochtitlán (Mexico City). Baltazar Gallegos, the only Gallegos survivor of the expedition, later moved to Nueva Galicia where he replaced Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (who sought out the infamous seven cities of gold) as mayor of the province.

Another close relative (presumably cousins, as stated in several books) of the Gallegos’ of Seville, was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. Prior to the ‘De Soto expedition’ in 1539, in 1527, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, from Jerez de la Frontera near Sevilla, joined the doomed Narváez expedition to explore present day Florida. After being shipwrecked and being held captive, he managed to make his way back to Mexico City on foot after managing to convince indigenous people he was a medicine man/healer. His accounts prove the most valuable detailed proto-anthropological perspective for the time as he lived among the indigenous people and later defended them against Spanish forces.

Upon returning back to Spain, it was Cabeza de Vaca who told his cousins, Baltazar de Gallegos and Crisóbal de Espínola about his amazing journey and about the upcoming Hernando de Soto (who had just finished conquering the Inca alongside Pizarro) expedition. Cabeza de Vaca had to pull out of the de Soto expedition after being relocated to South America.

As previously mentioned, Baltazar later took with him his brother Juan and his cousin Rodrigo, both priests, along for the ill-fated de Soto expedition. Before heading to the New World Baltazar sold everything and took off to Cuba, where he left his wife behind. Chronicler Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (born in Cusco, Peru, of Incan royalty) once wrote that Baltazar “for his great virtue, and courage, he deserved to be general of another greater army than that one.” According to the Garcilaso, Baltazar’s brother Juan died towards the end of the expedition in what is present day Texas.

The Villa of Aguascalientes, Nueva Galicia

In 1529, 300 Spaniards and 6,000 indigenous forces moved into the Villa of Aguascalientes, which later played a central part in the forming Nueva Galicia. Slowly they started to form a small town, moving in various families under the protection of military forces. They wanted to protect both the merchants and families moving into the region and with the constant raids of indigenous Chichimeca forces, they had to do everything in their power to protect them. 

The Chichimecas were nomadic warriors and that even the Aztecs could never conquer. In the end, the Spaniards decided to negotiate with them. It was quickly realized that they were the sole cause of these deadly raids, due to the Spaniards having imprisoned/enslaved and killed many of their family members. They slowly began to trade with them and they started to become incorporated into the new growing society within Nueva Galicia. The last of these raids took place in 1593 which then opened and solidified the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, a main highway connecting Mexico City to the furtherest outpost in Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to the record, by the 1600’s there were 25 Spaniards, 20 African slaves, and about 150 mestizos (mostly families) living within Aguascalientes. Among those founding families of Aguascalientes were some very predominant and well-respected names, from both royal linages and those who participated as conquistadors during the conquest.

Conquistadors, ex-slaves, and more

As I kept tracing back many of these lineages, specifically on my grandmother’s ‘de Soto’ lineage, I kept noticing more and more names associated with conquistadors. 

Conquistador Juan López de Baeza born around 1500, settled in Patzcuaro, Michoacán, with his wife Isabel Pérez, who was daughter of conquistador Captain Francisco de Santaella who was killed in Tabasco by indigenous forces. Captain Francisco’s other daughter, Beatriz López de Fuenllana, married Alonso de Gonzalez de Robalcava in 1575 in Patzcuaro and he went on to build the church in Patzcuaro and Cathedral of Guadalajara. Many of the Robaclava’s came from this branch before spreading out across Mexico and the United States.

Ruy González, born in 1494, landed in the New World in 1519 and partook in the conquest of Tenochtitlan, rode on to Michoacán before returning back to Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). He was then awarded a vast amount of land within the region of Tlazcozautitlan. He later served as Mayor of Mexico City and Council member up until 1550. He married an indigenous woman and had three daughters. He would later recieve a Coat of Arms from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, for his service to the Crown. 

Tracing back through the lines I kept coming across an Ysidro De Udave who married a Rosa María López de la Cerda on both my grandparents sides. There has been much debate regarding her identity. The main theory being she was born of the infamous de la Cerda’s of the Yucatan. If she is one and the same, she was born in the Yucatan and later moved to Teocaltiche. She was the descendant of royal families, conquistadors (including those who founded the city of Meridia), and a long line of Jewish royal families in Spain. The last of these Jewish descendants was María Núñez Ha Levi, who during the inquisition, was forced to convert to Christianity. Even though this lineage is speculative, it definitely adds a unique historical perspective which corresponds to how ideas and people change. 

Another interesting time in history I kept returning to on both sides of my grandparents was that of a couple who left Spain in the 1620’s and headed straight to Aguascalientes. They were both from Coria, Cáceres, in Western Spain, and what made them stick out in the documents was her background whereby she was referred to as a ‘mulata’. Francisco De Acosta Esqueda was labeled being of Spanish decent and Ana María (no last name was ever given) was being that of a mixed/African ancestry, or ‘mulata’. Some people speculate she could have either been an ex-slave or descendent of a family who remained after the reconquista. Given that there were a large amount of Africans brought over during this time, many Mexicans don’t seem to grasp that they ‘didn’t just disappear’ but rather, they married into and were incorporated into the various Spanish and mestizo families that existed at the time. Mexico was indeed the first real mixing pot where all the races came together from around the world and mixed together.  

Lastly, many conquistadores left Spain well-funded, due to their royal lineages, which was rather evident in the records. Even those who left poor gained some type of notoriety for their participation on colonizing on behalf of Spain. Which leads me to one of the oldest and well-known families to occupy the Villa of Aguascalientes, the Ruiz de Esparaza’s. The Ruiz de Esparza family was that of Basque nobility, and the head of the family was Lope Ruiz de Esparza who documents show sailed to Mexico from Spain on February 8, 1593. After having made his way to Aguascalientes, about a year later he married Francisca de Gabai Navarro y Moctezuma, whom academics believe was a direct descendant of last Emperor of the Aztecs, Moctezuma II. 

The Fall of Tenochtitlán

In three separate lineages I can trace back to Petronila de Moctezuma, mother of Francisca de Gabai Navarro y Moctezuma, who is centered around a heated academic debate. As the story goes, after the death of the Emperor Moctezuma II in Tenochtitlán (present day Mexico City) which then signaled the end of the Aztec/Mexica empire, Moctezuma’s daughters were taken as wives by the Spanish conquistadors (and were sometimes ‘remarried’ several times in the process). The daughters were then taken as brides during the early Spanish expansion of New Spain towards the north, as far as New Mexico and Zacatecas. The youngest of Moctezuma’s daughters was Mariana Leonor Moctezuma, who was baptized by Hernan Cortes himself, and married Juan Paéz and later conquisador Cristóbal de Valderrama. Moctezuma’s children were seen as Aztec Royalty and were acknowledged by the Spanish crown, and as such received certain entitlements including encomiendas. Leonor and Cristóbal had only one child, Leonor de Valderrama y Moctezuma who inherited the land grant. 

Leonor de Valderrama y Moctezuma married Diego Arias de Sotelo, who would later get caught up in a conspiracy against Spain with his brother, who was later executed. Before Leonor died at the age of 30 she had three known children. However, there was a mysterious fourth child that historians and genealogists still fiercely debate to this day.

Petronila de Moctezuma was born in Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) in 1555 and later taken to Teocaltitche, in Nueva Galicia (present day Jalisco) during the height of the Chichimecan Wars. Once the wars calmed down several of those descendants relocated into the Valley of Huejucar (Nahuatl for ‘Place of the Willows’) and continued on into the main town of Aguascalientes. It’s no surprise there are a lot of these descendants living within the Aguascalientes/Jalisco region. Several of Moctezuma’s surviving children were treated like royalty and one of them was even taken back to Spain and given title of Duke.

“Notes (entered by Margo Tamez):
Currently, there are three competing theories among respected genealogists of Mexico and the United States regarding Petronila de Moctezuma:

1. She was the daughter of Leonor de Moctezuma, granddaughter of Tecuichpotzin Moctezuma and Hernán Cortes, and the great-granddaughter of Moctezuma II and Teotlalco.
2. She was the daughter of Mariana Leonor de Moctezuma and granddaughter of Moctezuma II and Acatlan.
3. She was the daughter of Pedro Moctezuma, and one of his Indigenous wives, and the granddaughter of Moctezuma II and Miahuaxochitl.

All community experts agree Petronila de Moctezuma was the direct lineal descendent of Moctezuma II.”

Tamez, Margo. Returning Lipan Apache Women’s Laws, Lands, and Power in El Calaboz Rancheria, Texas-Mexico border, pg. 583

Valley of Huejúcar

The frontier town of Teocaltiche (originally Nahuatl for Teocaltillitzin meaning “place near the temple”) was where many of the families ended up before expanding towards newly created villages and towns. The Gallegos lineage of where my name originates ended up in this area around the middle to late 1700’s. They intermarried with a lot of other well-known families of the area such as the Lopez de Nava, Udave, and Esquedas. From there, from what I could gather, they bought land within the newly populated Valley of Huejúcar to the east of Teocaltiche. From what many speculate, this area now referred to as Las Moras, within the state Aguascalientes, was a thriving widely dispersed village. After time people started migrating into the main town of Calvillo in order to be closer to the center of economic opportunities for the region. The Gallegos’ lived in this large area along with other families and became farmers for the most part. I can only assume that many of the larger lands owned by their ancestors became more and more divided among their descendants until almost nothing was left of the original. For example, in my grandfather’s Lopez de Nava family, Joaquin Lopez de Nava owned a large hacienda in what was called San Diego de Huejúcar (or El Salitre de Huejúcar, or now just El Salitre) in 1662. That territory later became distributed more and more over time into smaller and smaller areas. The Lopez de Nava of the region originated from Juan López de Jimena, who came from Andalusia and took part in the sacking of Tenochtitlan alongside Cortes, his son later migrated to Aguascalientes whereby many still hold the Lopez name. Same went with the Gallegos family in Las Moras…so, by the end none of the descendants were by any means wealthy or well-off.

The original Gallegos family migrated from a small hacienda in Guanajuato known as La Quemada, following along the Camino Real to Teocaltiche. Miguel Deonicio Gallegos and Maria Josepha Getrudis Nieto had a son, Miguel Rafael Gallegos (and several other children) before decided to move to the town of Jaltiche (outside present-day Calvillo) in the late 1700’s. Miguel Rafael Gallegos later would marry another Lopez de Nava descendant and later moved to Aguascalientes. Many of the Gallegos of the area of Jalisco and Aguascalientes are descendants of this branch or of the much older, Hernando Martel Gallegos lineage.

The Gallegos of the region lived simple but hard livelihoods. Among numerous disease outbreaks in the late 1800’s and wars that ensued throughout Mexico, it was not a comfortable means of living by any stretch of the imagination. They made the best of what they had. And in the end, the intertwined linages over the course of generations tell stories of what made them unique, but at the same time, share historical points of views which are shared with all Mexicans. No matter how different, the stories are the same. Through conquest or famine they endured to the very end and still continue strong today.