His paternal grandparents were Bermudo Vela—a descendant of Count Bermudo Núñez— and Elvira Pinióliz, and the maternal ones were Suero Gundemáriz and Tesguenza Rodríguez, daughter of the rebellious Count Rodrigo Romániz, and descendant of Osorio Gutiérrez, known as the "holy count".
He is first recorded in medieval charters in 1045 and appears in 1053 confirming a donation by King Ferdinand I of León to the Monastery of San Pelayo in Oviedo. This monastery had been donated previously to the Cathedral of Oviedo by Gontrodo Gundemáriz, daughter of Count Gundemaro Pinióliz. Even though he did not hold the title of count, he acted as the judge in a legal proceeding in 1087 involving the abbot of the Monastery of Lorenzana and the bishop of Mondoñedo.
