The progenitors of the Baca family of New Mexico were Cristóbal Baca (Vaca) and his wife Ana Ortiz. Cristóbal was a military captain from Mexico City who arrived in 1600 with his family in order to help reinforce the Spanish colonial Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. At the time, they had three grown daughters and a small son. The Bacas had another son while living in Nuevo Mexico. the family then moved to Grants, New Mexico.