Diego Salcedo

Diego Salcedo (died 1511) was a semi-legendary Spanish conquistador who is said to have lived during the colonization of the Americas. According to legend, his death at the hands of the Indigenous Taíno people ignited the Taíno rebellion of 1511.

Salcedo's death According to the story, Salcedo died in 1511, during a trip to Puerto Rico, when Taínos, under the command of Agüeybaná II (brother of the great Taino Cacique Agüeybaná) and the Cacique of Añasco, Urayoán, drowned him in the Río Grande de Añasco. Historically, two versions about how Salcedo was lured to his death have collided. Many books assert that the soldier had been told he'd be taken to a lake filled with Taíno women that he could have sex with, and, once there, he found not women, but men who then proceeded to drown him. The other version has Salcedo being offered a ride across a river by Taínos who carried him on their arms, and then drowned him and kept him for days, afraid he'd still be alive and waiting until they were certain he was dead.

A third, and most accepted version of Salcedo's death says that the Tainos, fearing that the Spaniards might be gods, refrained from harming them. After suffering under the Spaniards for so long, the Tainos, by order of Agüeybaná, ambushed Salcedo as he was drinking water at the edge of a river. Fearing that Salcedo might resurrect after three days—based on their understanding of the Christian teachings wielded by Catholic priests—they sat around for three days waiting for Salcedo to come back from the dead, but all they saw was Salcedo's body rotting due to the heat just as they would. At that moment the Tainos realized that these were no gods.

It was with Salcedo's death that the Taínos were encouraged to declare war on the Spaniards in Puerto Rico. This led to the Taino rebellion of 1511. However, the Tainos were quickly defeated due to the Spaniards' better weaponry and war expertise. After the death of Agüeybaná II, the native warriors retracted and became disorganized.

Salcedo in popular culture Salcedo is referenced in a song of Puerto Rican rock band Fiel a la Vega. The song is titled "El Asunto: Salcedo Sigue Siendo Mortal" (The Issue: Salcedo is still a Mortal) and it makes a comparison between the Spaniards' rule in the island and the United States' invasion of 1898.