Royal town of Santa Cruz. town of the Santa Cruz de San Gil. town Most Noble and Most Loyal of Santa Cruz y San Gil of the New Baeza. This Royal Title of “Nobility” does not belong to all which are using it. Origins of the Noble putting on airs of the Colombian Cities.

The following document is, to the best of my knowledge, unknown in the country and I owed it to the courtesy of the Consul already mentioned: “Don Carlos, by the Grace of God, King of Castile, Cordoba, Cerdentildea, etc., since, the Municipal Council, Justice and Government of the town of Santa Cruz and San Gil of the New Baeza of the New Kingdom of Granada in our Indian Firm Lands of the Ocean Sea implored to have the honor of being called “Most Noble and Most Loyal”, I have found the good services and qualities of its people well It is my will that such town be perpetually entitled Most Noble and Most Loyal, and as such be called in all writings and letters, as do other towns and cities of our Indias and Kingdoms, given in Madrid, on February 23, 1697, I, The King. (45) The title of “town Most Noble and Most Loyal”, was given by the Spanish Monarchs to four cities and towns in the New Kingdom of Granada, namely: Santa Fe de Bogot on August 17, 1575 Tunja on March 29,1541 San Juan de Pasto June 17, 1559 Cartagena de Indias on March 6, 1575 and Santa Cruz y San Gil of the New Baeza on February 23, 1697, due to the services and quality of their neighbors. Honorable titles were conferred to other towns, not by the Crown, but by the Republican Authorities, as it happened to the following: to the town of San Diego of Ubate, the Supreme Junta of Santa Fe, with the signature of Frutos Joaquin Rodriguez expedited the title of “Illustrious and Generous”, on September 6, 1816 to the town of Santiago de Bogot, today Funza, the title of “Imperial and Agricultural town” on September 18, 1816 to the town of Chocont, the title of “Loyal and New town of Chocont” on October 26, 1810, and to Mompox was given the title of “Valiant City of Santa Cruz de Mompox”, by Don Manuel Rodriguez Torices, then President of the State of Cartagena, on November 3, 1812. The following Colombian cities have coat of arms: Santa Marta, Cartagena, Cali, Ciudad de Antioquia, Nuestra Sentildera de la Consolacion del Toro, Santiago de Arma, Honda, Mariquita, Socorro, Marinilla, Ubate, Funza, Chocont, Mompox, Barranquilla, Ibague, Magangue, Bucaramanga (October 10, 1951).

XV. THE ONE WHO IS NOT RUEDA (WHEEL), IS SILVA (POEM)

Names which have predominated but have not crossed. Professor Miguel Jimenez Lopez’s exegesis about one of these names. Jose Acevedo y Gomez is through and through the tribune of the people. Jose Asuncion Silva, the Prince of the Colombian Lyre. Laureano Gomez the greatest leader of the Rights in America. The epoch in which the other names arrived in San Gil.

From the book (46) of the Santandereano Publisher Jose Manuel Rojas Rueda, I extracted from the monographic synthesis in reference to San Gil, the following about the last name RUEDA:
“One of the most ancient family names which has given luster to the city is the Ruedas, who by their public and private virtues and their multiple intellectual activities have occupied the highest positions in the politics of the Department. This family descendant of the same common trunk, has had attorneys, physicians, engineers, military and men of true public spirit: Doctors Raimundo Rueda Rueda, Rodolfo Rueda, Luis Rueda, Antonio Maria Rueda, Manuel Maria Rueda, Apolinar Rueda, Genaro Rueda Rueda, General Ramon Rueda, Eleuterio Rueda, Constantino Rueda, Jorge Rueda and Jose Maria de Rueda”.
Speaking of the last mentioned in the family trunk by the writer Rojas, Dr. Rito Antonio Martinez (47) said: “The Ruedas are an invincible family, they have the talent of Doctor Apolinar Rueda, the sword of General Ramon Rueda and the money of Don Timoleon Rueda. He was referring to three of his contemporaries. With the occasion of the death of the eminent psychiatrist Maximiliano Rueda Galvis, son of Doctor Manuel Maria Rueda, Doctor Miguel Jimenez Lopez (48) wrote of Professor Rueda and his ascendants: Jose Acevedo y Gomez, Juan de la Cruz Gomez Plata, and his relatives Camacho Roldn, Aquileo Parra, Rueda Acosta, Rueda Jara, the following about the origin of the name:
“To trace a little bit further this tough Santandereano lineage, it was Buenaventura Rueda, Pizarro’s comrade in the conquest of Peru, who first brought to America that name and that blood. According to Florez de Ocaris, The first Rueda arrived to Colombia in the beginning of the sixteenth century, from Baeza in the Province of Cordoba. His ancestors are genteel men in the Iberian Court, such as Zacarias Rueda painter and decorator of Philip II Lope de Rueda contemporary playwright of Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra who crown him in the principal plaza of Seville and to whom the author of Don Quixote de la Mancha said: “Renown man in the representation and understanding, excellent and famous”. Jimenez Lopez enhanced the list with the following illustrious Spaniards (49): Alonso de Rueda, Benedictine monk Francisco de Rueda Sevillian religious man Juan de Rueda, painter Pedro de Rueda, Archbishop of Burgos, Juan Rueda de los Angeles, orator Salvador Rueda, poet and writer Diego de Rueda y Mendoza Court actuary Toms de Rueda y Osborne, diplomat Viscount de la Fuente and Juan de Dios Rueda, Jesuit writer. Another name which has given preponderance to the town is Silva. That is the reason for a saying in Eastern Colombia “ In San Gil the one who is not Rueda, is Silva”. This name has given to the country’s letters gures such as Jose Asuncion Silva Gomez, and to liberal activities such as the illustrious republican Carlos Martinez Silva, Pedro Silva Otero, Gustavo Silva Parra, Salvador and Dionisio Silva. Reading the important documents of the most remote period of San Gil, it is inferred that the most important people were: Captain Bernardo de Rueda, Jose de Rueda Sarmiento, Juan de Rueda Rosales, Leonardo Currea de Betancur, Gabriel Angel Ortiz, Manuel, Diego and Martin Gomez Romano ascendants of the tribune Acevedo y Gomez, Salvador de Silva y Velasco and Dionisio Silva ascendants of Jose Asuncion Silva Antonio Melendez Valdez, Juan Francisco and Felipe de la Parra, Gregorio and Jose Durn, Toms de Vesga, Toms Gualdron, Fidel Carrillo, Toms de la Vesga, Blas de Uribe and Sebastin Ardila, Pedro and Francisco de los Reyes, Esteban Javier de Otero, Pedro Jose de Rueda y Luque, Governor Don Gil de Rueda and many others too long to list who have formed the select social nucleus of the Department. From Spain arrived to Sanguilentilde territory the first Ruedas and Silvas as written by the Director of the Archives of Indias of Seville (50) from 1512 to 1536. Some came with the armada of the Germans Alnger and Federman by Venezuela and others in vessels by Cartagena, Magdalena River, Carare Road, with Galeano, Lzaro Fonte and Surez Rendon. The first was Juan de Rueda and Beatriz de Ribera, Carmona neighbors who arrived June 14, 1512. Later, on October 12, 1534, Juan Francisco de Rueda, son of Francisco de Rueda and of Juana Rueda de Rueda, native of Laredo, (German Armada), came first to Merida and later with Alnger to Guane. Then, Cristobal de Rueda, son of Francisco and Beatriz, brother of Juan the first to adventure arrived from Merida on September 14, 1536. Later, Pacho and Bernardo came the first one, son of Diego de Rueda and Elvira de Ortiz neighbors of Priego, on April 5, 1536, and the second, son of Anton de Rueda and Elvira Garcia natives of Marchena, on March 20, 1535, with Felipe Gutierrez and Jose Quijano as servants. The founders of San Gil were grandchildren of Spaniards Cristobal and Juan Francisco de Rueda. As far as the Silvas, (51) they arrived on February 18, 1535. One was named Baltazar de Silva son of Catalina de Silva and Pedriantildeez, neighbors of Seville and members of the armada. The other one was Francisco de Silva, neighbor of Valencia who came with his sister Isabel. The passenger list does not list his afliation. Reviewing the parochial books, there are the following names in chronological order since the seventeenth century: Bayona, Milln, Becerra, Torres, Plata, Correa, Beltrn, Gonzlez, Snchez, Rangel, Fiallo, Pentildea, Santos, Arenas, Rincon, Bravo, Campos, Moreno, Glvis, Hernndez, Ramirez, Ruiz, Ordontildeez, Perez, Osorio, Merchn, Arias, Barragn, Florez, Patintilde, Morales, Villafrdez, Sanmiguel, Orozco, Delgado, Hormiga, Miranda, Lopez, Villar, Oliveros, Frasser, Garzon, Porras, Nuntildeez, Cancino, Meneses, Solano, Mancilla, Posada, Salazar, Garnica, Barrero, Forero, Zrate, Monsalve, Tolosa, Fuentes, Entralgo, Olarte, Mrquez, Ballesteros, Pentildealoza, Naranjo, Cubillos, Medina, Contreras, Arciniegas, Badillo, Mejia, Pinto, Abril, Pintildeeres, Cardozo, Castillo, Baron, Pez, Gutierrez, Pinzon, Carvajal, Salas, Caballero, Paredes, Aranda, Sandoval, Jaimes, Calderon, Camacho, Padilla, Arguello, Rondon, Garcia, Villamil, and in the Twentieth century, Latorre, Laurens, Noriega, Pilonieta, Cordero, Pieruccini, Angarita, Rios, Perea, Granada, Crdenas, Remolina, Landinez, Bueno, Sanabria, Burgos, Pinto, Ballesteros, Balaguera, Garay, Vanegas, Zamudio Massey, Villamizar, Monroy, Pointud, Lizcano, Lizarazo, Laverde, Tapias, Franco, Chahin, Prieto, Gallon, Brcenas, Quijano, Ramirez, Ortega and all the others who later arrived to San Gil, in virtue of the political violence and the innocent blood bath of the Department, looking for an oasis of peace that was, is and will be. Because there,nobody, tolerates the abrupt barbarism seen in other parts.
San Gil has been considered as one of the few cities where the violent outburst, during the different governments which she has suffered, has not flourished.