Valerio de la Cruz's work was so successful in the region that around 1540 he was elected to governor of the province, and by 1545 Mendoza had conferred upon him the title of Captain of the Great Chichameca. In 1550 he was named cacique and lord of Jilotepec. And in 1559, Luís de Velasco (second Viceroy of New Spain) named him Captain-General of the Chichamecas, replacing Nicolás de San Luis Montañés to lead the local Otomi people against the Chichamecas. Further, de la Cruz was granted a coat of arms by Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V and permission to don the cross and habit of the Order of Santiago by Felipe II of Spain.
