He was born
in Santillana del Mar in 1280, he held an important political position during
the reign of Alfonso XI. He was “adelantado mayor” y “merino mayor” of the king
from 1315 to his death. Some of the most important things he had done in his political career
were the achievement of the privacy of the king, his membership to the Consejo
Real and
the obtaining of the señorio of Vizcaya on behalf of Doña María, mother
of the Infante Don Juan.
He belonged to
the Casa de la Vega, a Spanish lineage from the Middle Ages. This lineage was
from Torrelavega and it was one of the most important lineages from the
territory which consists of the present provinces of Cantabria, Palencia y
Burgos. They dominated a lot of territories and properties, we can point the
Torre de la Vega and the Castillo of Argüeso. Garcilaso was Señor de la Vega
and the major drive of the powerful Señorío de la Vega. He had numerous
properties in Asturias de Santillana (an historical region situated in the
present autonomous communities of Cantabria and Asturias). The centre of this
Señorio was La Casa de la Vega, apart from servants in several places.
He was
father of Garcilaso de la Vega II “El Joven” who was famous for his exploits in
the Batalla de Salado. Alfonso XI gave to La Casa de la Vega the original coat
of arms of the family with the inscription “AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA” thanks to
this exploits. The present coat of arms of Torrelavega looks like the coat of arms of La Casa de la
Vega. He was also the great grandfather of Leonor de la Vega, Marqués de
Santillana´s mother.
Garcilaso died in 1336 when he moved to Soria to find
allies to fight versus the Infante Juan Manuel who caused many problems in the
territories of the king. Some knights of the city killed him with a crossbow
and they tore him when he went to the San Francisco´s church. The king Alfonso
XI harmed the culprits, killing them.
Garcilaso wasn´t only an important personage in Torrelavega, he was also
important all around Spain and his family was one of the most important and
respectable lineages of the Spanish history. Garcilaso´s street is an homage to La Casa de
la Vega and not only to Garcilaso. This street shows the gratitude of
Torrelavega to this lineage because it gave Torrelavega the importance that it
deserves.
You can find this information here:
Wikipedia, Garci Lasso de la Vega I "El Viejo"
Coversation with José Ramón Saéz
Great Encyclopedia of
Cantabria-Volume IV-Fauna Cantabria-Incendio
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