Did you know that…. Juan Garrído traveled with conquistador Hernán Cortés
to México in 1510 and was the first person to sow wheat
and manufacture flour in the Western Hemisphere.
He was a native of West Africa who, as a free man, went
to Lisbon, Portugal to be Christianized and educated. It
is speculated that Garrído may have been a member of a
royal family—thus his free status. Before reaching
México he was a member of the expeditions of Nícolas
De Ovando, Ponce de Léon and Diego Vélasquez.
He journeyed to Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba,
Guadeloupe, Dominica and Florida. In later life Gárrido
still searched for fame and fortune in such places as
Míchoacan, México and Baja, California. He died poor
and forgotten but his contribution of a common foodstuff
forever changed our eating habits.
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