A knight of the Order of Santiago, he rose to prominence as a military leader during the reigns of Philip IV and Charles II of Spain.

The Marquess of Tabuérniga de Vélazar served as governor of the strategic city of Nieuwpoort in Flanders and held the rank of Sergeant General of Battle.

[2][3] Antonio Vélaz de Medrano is also known for having led an interesting diplomatic initiative by negotiating with the United Provinces of the Netherlands for the cession of the island of Tobago to himself, as prince.

[6] In 1644, following his father's appointment as the Captain General of the Armada de Barlovento and still a child, he moved to the Indies with his family, settling in the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

[4] Once the Catalan rebellion was subdued, he moved to the Portuguese front, initially joining the army of Extremadura, where he participated in the Duke of Osuna's incursion near Portalegre.

[4] In 1672, the Franco-Dutch War began, forcing Governor Antonio Vélaz de Medrano to confront the French hostilities on the front line.

Before the French captured Nieuwpoort in 1678, Governor Antonio Vélaz de Medrano had his first flirtation with duels in 1677, while on official mission in Madrid.

[4] The practice of dueling was deeply rooted in Modern Age Europe to the point that in the 17th century it had become quite a fashion despite the prohibitions prescribed by civil and military legislation.

[4] Fearing the same fate, Antonio Vélaz de Medrano fled his prison taking advantage of the city's fall into French hands in March 1678.

To avoid retaliation, he sought refuge in the United Provinces, from where he only returned in October of the same year after obtaining guarantees that his life would be respected.

[9][3] The title was created over a majorat founded in 1602 by Bishop Pedro Manso de Zúñiga y Medrano, whose main income precisely consisted of the village of Tabuérniga, near the town of Labastida (Álava).

[10] The current remains of the Mayorazgo of Tabuerniga is known as the "Moorish House," abandoned in the 18th century, located 5km away from the town of Berganzo, Araba, Spain.

Today, only the "Casa del Moro (House of the Moor)" remains exposed from that village, which supposedly was a kind of "customs" or "fielato" (tariff collection).

Currently, all that remains of the old deserted area is Medrano's two-story tower with a beautiful ornamental finish on its back, from which its origin in the 16th or 17th centuries can be deduced.