Editing Pedro de Alvarado (section)

==Early life and family==
Pedro de Alvarado was born in 1485 in the town of [[Badajoz]], [[Extremadura]].<ref name="Recinos86p9">Recinos 1986, p. 9.</ref> His father was Gómez de Alvarado,<ref name="Recinos86p9-10"/> and his mother was Leonor de Contreras, Gómez's second wife.<ref name="Recinos86p9"/> Pedro de Alvarado had a twin sister, Sarra, and four full-blood brothers, [[Jorge de Alvarado|Jorge]], [[Gonzalo de Alvarado#Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras|Gonzalo]], [[Gómez de Alvarado|Gómez]], and Juan.<ref name="Recinos86p10">Recinos 1986, p. 10.</ref> Pedro had an illegitimate half brother, also named Juan, referred to in contemporary sources as ''Juan el Bastardo''.<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 10, 21.</ref>

Very little is known of Pedro de Alvarado's early life before his arrival in the Americas. During the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|conquest of the Americas]], tales of his youthful exploits in Spain became popular legends, but their veracity is doubtful.<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 10–11.</ref> An example is the tale then current that when he was a youth awaiting passage to the Americas, he climbed the church tower in [[Seville]] with some friends. A banner pole extended some {{convert|10|to|12|ft|m|order=flip}} from an upper window. One of his companions walked out to the end of the pole after removing his cloak and sword, and returned to the tower backwards. Alvarado, afraid of being mocked, walked out onto the pole with both sword and cloak, and turned around at the end to return to the tower facing it.<ref>Recinos 1986, pp. 11–12.</ref>

Alvarado's paternal grandfather was Juan Alvarado "el Viejo" ("the elder"), who was ''[[encomienda|comendador]]'' of [[Hornachos]], and his paternal grandmother was Catalina Messía.<ref name="Recinos86p9"/> Pedro de Alvarado's uncle on his father's side was Diego de Alvarado y Messía,<ref name="Recinos86p9-10">Recinos 1986, pp. 9–10.</ref> who was the ''comendador'' of [[Lobón]], [[La Puebla de Cazalla|Puebla]], and [[Montijo, Spain|Montijo]], ''[[alcalde]]'' of [[Montánchez]], and lord of Castellanos and of Cubillana. Diego was a veteran of the [[Reconquista|campaigns]] against the [[Moors]].<ref name="Recinos86p9"/>