"The first municipal reference to a free black man dates from 1539, when the municipal council acknowledged "Juan de Ordáz, negro" as a ', a title... with... civic rights. Acquiring ', the status and privileges of formally acknowledged residency, carried great significance... [V]ecinos could petition the council for plots... to erect... residences or cultivate orchards.... what Juan de Ordáz did. He... twice in the historical record... selling the urban plots... he had been granted... In 1546, Francisco Díaz, a black freedman, was also included on the city’s list of registered residents. Two other black men, Juan de Montalvo and Diego Monte, had their vecindad[s]... in 1550 and 1571, respectively."