CRUZ, Rodrigo de la (crooth), soldier, born in Marbella, Spain, 25 December 1637; died in Mexico, 16 September 1716. He went to Central America with his father, who had been appointed governor of Costa Rica, in 1656, and afterward succeeded him in that office. He accomplished the conquest of Talamanca, in which he spent a large portion of his private fortune, and the king of Spain rewarded him with the title of Marquis de Talamanca; but he soon entered the order founded by Father Betencourt in Guatemala, and succeeded him as superior, 2 February 1668. He went to Peru, where he founded numerous hospitals, and obtained the incorporation of his order, 26 March 1687. For this purpose he went to Rome and Madrid, where he remained for nine years, and on his return he founded new institutions and hospitals in Mexico and Peru. He wrote "Constituciones de la Religion Betlemitica fundada en las Indias Occidentales" (Mexico, 1751).