Gonzalo Guerrero

In 1511, a Spanish galleon shipwrecked off the shore of Akumal. Seventeen of the sailors survived in a lifeboat but the coast was treacherous and inhabited by cannibals. Fifteen died in from exposure, hunger, slavery, or were sacrificed by natives. The two remaining survivors, Jeronimo de Aguilar (a cleric/friar) and Gonzalo Guerrero (a seaman from Palos) managed to escape into the interior where they encountered a more friendly tribe. Six years later, in 1517, emissaries were sent by Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes from Cozumel to look for survivors of the wreck. Jeronimo de Aguilar returned to the Spaniards and helped in the conquest of Mexico using his new Mayan language skills. The other survivor, Gonzalo Guerrero, remained behind having already married a Mayan cacique (princess) named Ixpilotzama, a relative of Nachan Can, the Lord of Chetumal. They had three children together, the first "mestizos" (half-European and half-Amerindian, from the Latin "to mix") of Mexico. Guerrero became a Nacom, a lord of the Serpent order. He declared himself Mayan--he spoke Mayan, tattooed his body and his face, wore earrings, became a worshipper of Mayan gods, and helped the people with warfare against the Spaniards. He died in 1536, killed while fighting on the side of the natives against the Spaniards. Some historians believe this account of Guerrero to be largely fictional, a story concocted by de Aguilar to make himself appear more loyal to Spain and his religion. Plaque incription reads: "Gonzalo de Guerrero, of Palos de Noguera, Spain, seaman, who in 1511 shipwrecked near this beach, married the Mayan Princess Xzamil and thus founded the first Euro-American family."