Suero de Quiñones

Suero de Quiñones (c. 1409 – 11 July 1456), called El del Passo ("he of the pass"), was a Leonese knight, nobleman, and author in the Kingdom of León (then part of the Crown of Castile).

[1] In 1431, Suero participated in Battle of La Higueruela, during which the forces of John II of Castile, led by Álvaro de Luna, attempted to take Granada as part of the Spanish Reconquista.

From July 10 to August 9, Suero and ten companions encamped in a field beside the bridge over the Órbigo River, in the northwest of Castile.

[1] Town notary Don Luis Alonso Luengo kept a detailed first-hand chronicle of the events, later published as Libro del Passo honroso ("Book of the Passage of Honor"), bringing Suero and his men even wider fame in Europe.

According to Margarita Torres, this incident may be the root of the matar judíos tradition in Spain, whereby revelers drink Leonese lemonade during Holy Week.

Sculpture from the 16th-century sarcophagus of Suero de Quiñones by Pompeo Leoni
Bridge over the Órbigo River where Suero de Quiñones and his men maintained their position.