He went to Hispaniola en 1508 and to Cuba in 1511.
He was one of the earliest to explore the shores of Mexico. He left Cuba with four ships in April1518. According to Hernán Cortés, 170 people went with him, but according to Pedro Mártir, there were 300 people.
The main pilot was Antón de Alaminos, the other pilots were Juan Álverez (also known as el Manquillo), Pedro Camacho de Triana, and Grijalva.
Sebastian deGrijalva, a member of the entrada of Panfilo de Navarrez in New Spain, received his command of Sosola y Tenexpa in 1520 which was preserved in the hands of the family through three generations.
Juan Pablo Grijalva was second corporal of the Presidio Terrenate when appointed by Juan Bautista de Anza as Sergeant of the Expedition to Alta California.
Later, Grijalva led a group to Northern Baja California where "...having founded this mission in the mountain range among the Rosario y Santo Domingo, [we] fulfill the orders of the Viceroy on the 27th of March, 1793.