Juan Garrido

Who is Juan Garrido?

Juan Garrido was a black African-Spanish conquistador. African by birth, he went to Portugal as a young man. In converting to Christianity, he chose the Spanish name, Juan Garrido.

He joined a Spanish expedition and arrived in Santo Domingo about 1502. He participated in the invasion of present-day Puerto Rico and Cuba in 1508. By 1519 he had joined Cortes' forces and invaded present-day Mexico, participating in the siege of Tenochtitlan. He married and settled in Mexico City. He continued to serve with Spanish forces for more than 30 years, including expeditions to western Mexico and to the Pacific. He is credited with the first cultivation of wheat in the New World.