Carolyn and Daniel,

When checking the marriage record of Andrés Martínez de Sotomayor with Ana de Castañeda, I discovered an interesting fact that seems to confirm my suspicions that Antonio de Castañeda was the son of Nicolás de Castañeda and Anna de Vargas Machuca, and therefore brother of Apolonia de Castañeda. The link is as follows:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-15246-27952-17?cc=1804458&wc…

Notice that Ana de Castañeda, daughter of Antonio de Castañeda and Thomasa de Carrión, is identified as Ana de Castañeda y Vargas. That pretty much tells me that she was named after her maternal grandmother Anna de Vargas Machuca, and that she sometimes used the surname Vargas. Here is a complete transcription of this record:

Al margen: "Noria / Andres Martinez con Ana de Castañeda"

"En el Real y Minas de San Mathias Sierra
de Pinos en diez de febrero de mill setecientos y veinte y dos
años haviendo precedido las tres amonestaciones que
dispone el

Carolyn, Daniel, David et al,

Just a quick note to correct the name of the "padrino" in the wedding of Miguel de Castañeda and María López. The transcription should read "fue su padrino el Capitán Pedro de Quixas y Escalante" instead of Juan de Quenca y Escalante. My mistake in reading the original document. Capt. Pedro de Quixas belonged to a prominent family of landowners in Pinos at that time. I apologize for the mistake, which was caught by the quick eyes of David Delgado of Albany, California. The transcription should read

Al margen: "Miguel de Castañeda y María López, españoles"

"En primero de febrero de dicho año (1653), se casó y veló según el orden
de la Santa Madre Iglesia habiendo antecedido todas las diligencias que manda
el concilio, Maria López, viuda de Joan Valadés, vecino que fue de esta
jurisdición, con Miguel de Castañeda, hijo legítimo de P.... de Castañe-
da, y de Jasinta de Sotomayor, vecinos de la jurisdición de Sierra de

Bill Figueroa,
Recently you provided the names of six children of Pedro Castañeda and Jacinta de Sotomayor, and also mentioned your belief that Nicolas Castañeda, the spouse of Ana Vargas, could be brother of Pedro. However, Nicolas was another child of Pedro and Jacinta, as it was stated in the marriage information when he pretended to marry Ana Vargas in Pinos, Zacatecas, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-15245-26512-76?cc=1804458&wc….
Ana was born in San Luis Potosi and lived in el Real de la Pendencia and was the daughter of Diego Vargas Moriano and Leonor de Cardona. Notice that her father's surname conflicts with at least one later document where the compound surname associated with Ana appears as 'Vargas Machuca'.

Sincerely

Jaime