Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata
Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata (17th century–18th century) was a noble from the House of Medrano in Sojuela, La Rioja, lord and divisero of Regajal, a knight of the Order of Calatrava, and a prominent colonial official in New Spain who served as the governor of the province of Carrión in the valley of Atlixco, located in present-day Puebla, Mexico, from 1693 to 1706.

 Governor of the Province of Carrión (1693– 1706) 
thumb|Section of Juan Manuel Martínez Caltenco's mural work in the municipal building depicting the history of the municipality of Atlixco
Before Medrano became governor, the city of Atlixco and the surrounding area was under the jurisdiction of Huejotzingo, but in 1632, it became a local independent seat of government.

In 1693, Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata became the governor of the province of Carrión, in the valley of Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico, with his seat in the city of Atlixco, from 1693 to 1706.Tomás Fernández de Medrano, consejero y secretario de Estado y Guerra de los Duques de Saboya, divisero del Solar de Valdeosera﻿ by D. Luis Pinillos Lafuente, divisero of  Valdeosera page 29. https://cuadernosdeayala.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CAyala-87.pdf

In 1706, the area came under the direct control of the Spanish Crown, with Philip V from the House of Bourbon granting José Sarmiento de Valladares, the royal title of Duke and Lord of Atlixco.

The region was historically significant for its role in the Flower Wars, ritual battles fought by the Aztec Empire and their rivals from 1454 to 1519. These conflicts originate from Atlixco’s strategic importance and fertile land, which later made it a vital agricultural center in New Spain during Don Diego Fernández de Medrano's governorship. 

During his governance, Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata witnessed the transition of power from the House of Habsburg to the House of Bourbon after the death of Charles II of Spain, who left no male heir, which led to the War of the Spanish Succession and ultimately the Bourbon Reforms.The Bourbon Reform of Spanish Absolutism - KU ScholarWorks  (2014) https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/22033/Fox_ku_0099D_13266_DATA_1.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1
 Portrait 
thumb|Portrait of "The Lord General Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata, governor of the province of Carrión in the valley of Atlixco" (1693)
The portrait of Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata, created in 1693, is a remarkable example of the 17th-century New Spanish School's artistry (Escuela Novohispana). This oil-on-canvas painting measures 182 x 108 cm. The portrait recently garnered significant attention when it was auctioned, with its price surging from 3,000 to 16,000 euros.

 Biography 
Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata was a Basque-Castillian nobleman and colonial administrator in New Spain, born in Sojuela, and later a resident of Logroño in La Rioja. Sojuela was ruled by his relative Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros, Lord of Valdeosera, commissioner of Spanish infantry, priest and chaplain.

 Family 
Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata was a knight of the prestigious Order of Calatrava and the son of Don Juan Fernández de Medrano, a notable member of the Holy Office in Logroño and the owner of the Solar de Regajal, and Doña Francisca de Zapata y Medrano, a former resident of Calahorra. The couple had two sons, Don Diego and Don Francisco Antonio Fernández de Medrano y Zapata.

 Will and testament 
The Toledo Archivo de la Nobleza (Dukes of Baena) contains a copy, dated October 15, 1750, of the wills executed in Calahorra by three members of the Fernández de Medrano family: his father Don Juan Fernández de Medrano on March 22, 1665; Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata on August 3, 1708; and his son Don Enrique Fernández de Medrano on September 29, 1735.Copies of the wills executed in Calahorra (La Rioja) by Enrique Fernández de Mediano on November 29, 1735, by Diego Fernández de Medrano Zapata on August 3, 1708, and by Juan Fernández de Medrano on March 22, 1665. https://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/description/6159573

 Heir 
Don Enrique Fernández de Medrano, son of Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata, was involved in proceedings for the granting of the title of Knight of the Order of Calatrava in 1702. Enrique Fernández de Medrano y Vicuña Zapata y Echavarri, a native of Sojuela, was confirmed as a knight. In 1723, documentation was also prepared for Doña Francisca Jiménez de Tejada Eslava López de Mirafuentes y Vicuña, a native of Funes, to marry Enríque Fernández de Medrano, who was by then a Knight of the Order of Calatrava.Tomás Fernández de Medrano, consejero y secretario de Estado y Guerra de los Duques de Saboya, divisero del Solar de Valdeosera by D. Luis Pinillos Lafuente, divisero of  Valdeosera page 30. https://cuadernosdeayala.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CAyala-87.pdf 

 Eulalia Fernández de Medrano y Jiménez de Tejada 
His son Enríque had a daughter named Eulalia Fernández de Medrano y Jiménez de Tejada, who married José Javier de Gaínza y Monzón, lord of the Gaínza estate. Eulalia Fernández de Medrano and José were the parents of Don Gabino Gaínza Fernández de Medrano, Knight of the Order of Saint John, and the last governor and captain-general of the Kingdom of Guatemala, famous for declaring    independence on 15 September 1821, becoming the first ruler of a united and independent Central America.

Diego's granddaughter Eulalia Fernández de Medrano was the great-niece of Friar Francisco Jiménez de Tejada, 69th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta in the early 18th century. Eulalia is also related to the 1st Marqueses of Ximénez de Tejada, Don Pedro Gregorio Ximénez de Tejada y Eslava (1708-1794) and Doña Joaquina de Argaiz y Velaz de Medrano (Peralta, b. 1711).Ministry of Justice, Government of Spain (2007). «Marquises». In Ministry of Justice, ed. Greatness and Titles of the kingdom. Official Guide . ISBN 978-84-7787-097-5

 Relatives 
thumb|right|Coat of Arms of the House of Medrano on top of the coat of arms of the Lordship and Solar of Valdeosera, as seen in the political treatise Mista Republica by Tomás Fernández de Medrano (1602)
Diego's ancestor Don Francisco Fernández de Medrano was the brother of Tomás Fernández de Medrano, mayor, lord and divisero of Valdeosera, knight in the Order of Saint John, Secretary of State and War for the Dukes of Savoy, author of the important political treatise "Republica Mista" published in 1602; and of General Diego de Medrano, famous naval commander in the Spanish Armada.

 Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros 
Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata was also a close relative of the Chaplain and Priest Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros, lord and divisero of the Villa and Solar of Valdeosera, and of the town of Sojuela, knight in the Order of Santiago, owner of the House and Tower of La Vega and the Palace of Entrena, Commissioner of Spanish Infantry and Alcaide of the Castles of Villarejo de Salvanés and Fuentidueña (Guadalajara), which belong to the Order of Santiago.

Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros, Lord of Valdeosera and Sojuela, was the author of the panegyric and political treatise "Heroic and Flying Fame of the Most Excellent Lord Don Luis Méndez de Haro, Count-Duke of Olivares" and the political treatise "Mirror of Princes: Crucible of their Virtues, Astonishment of their Failings, Soul of their Government and Government of their Soul" dedicated to Don Philip Prospero, Prince of Asturias, of the House of Austria.

In the registry of the Divisa Regajal, on May 1, 1624, Don Diego Fernández de Medrano and his son Don Diego were registered on leaf 109, Lords of the Villa of Sojuela.S.II, B.2, fol. 24 Don Diego de Medrano served as alcalde mayor of the Solar of Valdeosera in the years 1624-1625 and 1643–1644.Tomás Fernández de Medrano, consejero y secretario de Estado y Guerra de los Duques de Saboya, divisero del Solar de Valdeosera﻿ by D. Luis Pinillos Lafuente, divisero of  Valdeosera page 28. https://cuadernosdeayala.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CAyala-87.pdf

 Clemente Fernández de Medrano 
King Philip IV of Spain, through a Royal dispatch dated June 23, 1638, issued a report detailing the services of Diego's relative Don Clemente Fernández de Medrano, employed by His Majesty and recorded in the documents of the secretary of state and war of the Government of the  Kingdom of Sicily, based on his original papers, which were submitted by his grandsons, Don Francisco and Don Nicolás Fernández de Medrano, in Palermo on July 25, 1690.

 Lord and Divisero of Regajal 
thumb|right|Coat of arms of the House of Medrano: Gules field, hollow cross of Calatrava in gold, argent goshawk on the hand of the Medrano family progenitor, surrounded by an azure border with their family motto "Ave María Gracia Plena Dominus Tecum" in sable letters (1568).
Regajal is a village that belonged to the Community of Villa and Tierra de Jubera. The Solar of Regajal is connected to the Solar of Valdeosera, one of the most ancient corporations in Spain, associated with the battle of Clavijo. His father Juan Fernández de Medrano was a prominent figure who took possession of the Divisa Regajal on June 13, 1596.(Serie Il, Becerro 1, folio 80) His father was associated with the Holy Office of Logroño, with residency in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. On May 10, 1664, Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zapata took possession of the Divisa Regajal.(S.V., B.20, fol. 123).

 Lords of Regajal 
His ancestor Don Francisco Fernandez de Medrano, from Navarrete, lord and divisero of Regajal, fought during the French Wars of Religion under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma. Francisco Fernandez de Medrano married Maria Ana de Espinosa. Captain Francisco Fernández de Medrano was registered in the census of divisional knights as a captain, and neighbor of Entrena, registered on 1 May 1596, Divisa de Regajal. 

Two sons of Francisco are also registered on 1 May 1614: Don Diego Fernández de Medrano y Espinosa and Don Francisco Fernández de Medrano y Espinosa, legitimate sons of Don Francisco Fernandez de Medrano and of Doña María Ana de Espinosa, his wife, lords of the said Solar and Divisa de Regajal. 

Diego Fernández de Medrano y Espinosa was born in Logroño in 1564, his grandfather had also been a secretary to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, himself. In 1607, he was appointed chaplain of honor, judge of the royal chapel, administrator and deputy of the Royal Hospital of the court and testamentary executor of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain. In the Archive of Valdeosera, Francisco and Diego Fernández de Medrano y Espinosa were both registered as natives and descendants in the direct male line of the manor and Divisa de Regajal.

 See also 

 Tomás Fernández de Medrano
 Gabino Gaínza Fernández de Medrano
 Pedro Antonio de Medrano
 García de Medrano y Alvarez de los Rios
 García de Medrano y Mendizábal, 1st Count of Torrubia

 Bibliography 

 Luis Pinillos Lafuente: Valdeosera. El Solar de las Trece Divisas. Logroño, 2008.

 References 

Category:16th-century Spanish nobility
Category:People from La Rioja
Category:People from Logroño
Category:17th-century births
Category:18th-century deaths
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Year of death unknown
Category:Spanish colonial governors and administrators
Category:Castilian nobility
Category:Knights of Calatrava