a Franciscan Spanish monk. Juan de Santa Gertrudis was sent as a missionary to South America in 1757 and between 1758 and 1767 during his evangelizing, he founded a mission in Putumayo Department called Agustinillo. He crossed the southern territory of New Granada, especially the province of Popayan, with some travel to Quito and Bogota. Following this experience in America, he returned to Spain, where he wrote his most important work titled "Maravillas de la Naturaleza" (in English: "Wonders of Nature") in four volumes which reveals the mentality of a religious man fascinated with nature.
