Alonso Rael de Aguilar facts for kids

Alonso Rael de Aguilar was an important soldier and leader in early New Mexico. He worked closely with Diego de Vargas, who was a Spanish governor. Alonso Rael de Aguilar served as the Secretary of State and War, which meant he helped manage important government and military matters.

He was born in February 1661 in Lorca, a city in Murcia, Spain. By 1683, he had traveled across the ocean and arrived in what is now El Paso, Texas.

In 1692, Alonso Rael de Aguilar joined Diego de Vargas on a journey to take back the New Mexico Territory for Spain. This event is still celebrated today as the Fiestas de Santa Fe. Later in his life, Alonso Rael de Aguilar became the mayor of Santa Fe, a very important role. Many people with the last name Rael in the southwestern United States, especially in New Mexico and Colorado, are his descendants.

Land and Family History

Alonso Rael de Aguilar received a special land grant near Cerillos, New Mexico. A land grant was like a gift of land from the government. However, it seems he did not keep this land. In 1788, the land grant was given to his granddaughter's husband, Jose Miguel de la Pena.

Alonso Rael de Aguilar's name also appears in a government report from 2001 about land grants in New Mexico. This shows how important he was in the history of the region.

Family Roots and Name Connections

Some historians believe that Alonso Rael de Aguilar's family may have had Jewish roots. This idea comes from research by people like Dr. Stanley Hordes.

Dr. Hordes found that the name Rael is similar to the name Israel. For example, Alonso's granddaughter, María Manuela Rael de Aguilar, was sometimes called María Manuela Ysrael de Aguilar in old church records. This suggests that people in her community knew about her family's background. The connection between the names Rael and Israel might go back hundreds of years.