High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras (born Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain, ca. 1485 or ca. 1495, died Guadalajara, New Spain, 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador and governor of Guatemala. Known for his skill as a soldier, Alvarado's cruelty to native populations is represented in various sources, including the Lienzo de Quauhquechollan, wherein his conquest is depicted. This document shows that he enslaved natives, and murdered them by means such as hanging, burning, and throwing them to dogs. His wife, Doña Beatriz de la Cueva, of Úbeda, became governor after his death, but died in September 1541 during the mudflow of the Guatemalan "Agua" volcano.