Don Diego de Montemayor-Founder of the City of Monterrey, Mexico
Don Diego de
Montemayor, born in 1528 left Malaga Spain in 1548 with his young
wife and arrived in Veracruz to seek his fortune in the new world.
In 1596 Montemayor with 30 colonist families and several hundred
Indian artisans from Tlaxcala came to the site of Monterrey to found
a new city that he named Metropolis of our Lady of Monterrey. It was
the third attempt to establish a city here and the second for Don
Diego. In his proclamation, Don Diego declared: In the name of Almighty God and the Blessed Saint Mary, Mother of God, and our Royal Lady, come I, Diego de Montemayor, treasurer of this Royal
Possession of the New Kingdom of Leon, Lieutenant Governor and
Captan General, for the advancement of him, the King, our God... and
in the name of our Majesty, our King Phillip, I found this
metropolitan city together on this grand mountain and the springs of
Santa Lucia...
Charlie
Montemayor meets Don Diego at the 400th anniversary reunion of the
founding of the City of Monterrey. Four hundred descendants of Don
Diego, mainly from the U.S. met in 1996 in Monterrey Mexico. The next reunion was held in Malaga, Spain in 2000.
Where did William Shakespeare get the plot idea for his play: "The Two Gentlemen of Verona?" (Click on answer.)
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Mural in the
Palace of Government in Monterrey. Don Diego with helmet removed,
sword in repose position, and carrying his proclamation in his left
hand, proclaims the founding of the city of Monterrey. Joining him
are Alberto del Canto and Luis Carvajal, a famous
conquistador.
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