In 1576, Alonso García Cerrato the younger, born circa 1539, sought and was granted license to travel from Spain to Nueva España. This required a written request to royal officials in Madrid and testimony from witnesses who knew the petitioner and could vouch for the person both as a citizen in good standing and as a Christian without any parents or grandparents who converted from either the Jewish or the Islamic faith.

Traveling with Alonso García Cerrato were his wife, Catalina Cabeza, and their four children: Leonor, born circa 1565; Cristóbal, born circa 1568; Fernando, born circa 1570; and María, born circa 1574, all natives of Valverde. Catalina Cabeza, born circa 1542, was also

originally from Valverde de Llerena, and the record of passage identified her parents as Valverde natives Alonso García Izquierdo and Catalina Cabeza. This family sailed from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean with the promise of

new opportunities.