''Cabeza de Vaca'' is a 1991 Mexican film about the adventures of

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Decembe ...

(c. 1490 – c. 1557), an early Spanish explorer, as he traversed what later became the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. He was one of four survivors of the

Narváez expedition The Narváez expedition was a Spanish journey of exploration and colonization started in 1527 that intended to establish colonial settlements and garrisons in Florida. The expedition was initially led by Pánfilo de Narváez, who died in 1528. M ...

and shipwreck. He became known as a

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

among the Native American tribes he encountered, which helped him survive. His journey of a number of years began in 1528. After his return to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, he published his journal in 1542. The screenplay by

Guillermo Sheridan Guillermo Humberto Sheridan Prieto (born 27 August 1950) is a Mexican literary critic, scholar and public commentator. Life and work Sheridan was born in Mexico City. He was a Chevening Scholar at the University of East Anglia in 1986. He was aw ...

and Nicolás Echevarría is based on this journal. Directed by

Nicolás Echevarría Nicolás Echevarría (born 8 August 1947) is a Mexican film director and cinematographer. He has directed over 20 films since 1973. His 1991 film ''Cabeza de Vaca'' was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. Echevarría draws ...

and starring

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, also known as Juan Diego (; 1474–1548), was a Chichimec peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of the Virgin Mary on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill of Tepeyac a ...

, the film was entered into the

41st Berlin International Film Festival The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with ''Uranus'' by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film '' La casa del sorriso'' directed by Marco Ferreri. The ret ...

. The film was selected as the Mexican entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 25, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the cer ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences A DVD version was released in 2012.

Cast

Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

Daniel Giménez Cacho Daniel Giménez Cacho (born May 15, 1961) is a Spanish-born Mexican actor and Ariel award winner, best known for portraying Tito the Coroner in ''Cronos'' (1993) and ''We Are What We Are'' (2010). Career He starred in several Mexican films ...

as Dorantes *

Roberto Sosa Roberto Sosa may refer to: *Roberto Sosa (poet) (1930–2011), Honduran author and poet *Roberto Sosa (Argentine footballer) (born 1975), Argentine footballer *Roberto Sosa (Uruguayan footballer) (born 1935) *Roberto Sosa (actor) See also *Sosa (su ...

as Cascabel / Araino * Carlos Castañón as Castillo * Gerardo Villarreal as

Estevanico Estevanico ("Little Stephen"; modern spelling Estebanico; –1539), also known as Esteban de Dorantes or Mustafa Azemmouri (مصطفى الزموري), was the first African to explore North America. Estevanico first appears as a slave in Portu ...

Roberto Cobo Roberto Garcìa Romero (20 February 1930 – 2 August 2002), better known as Roberto Cobo, was a Mexican actor. He appeared in more than eighty films between 1947 and 2002. Partial filmography References External links * 1930 births ...

as Lozoya (as Roberto 'Calambres' Cobo) * José Flores as Malacosa * Eli 'Chupadera' Machuca as Sorcerer * Farnesio de Bernal as Fray Suárez *

Josefina Echánove Josefina Echánove (born Josefina Rojas Hudson; 21 July 1917 – 11 July 1999) was a Mexican film, television and stage actress.

as Anciana Avavar *

Max Kerlow Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

as Man in Armor *

Óscar Yoldi Oscar or Oskar is a masculine given name of Irish origin. Etymology The name is derived from two elements in Irish: the first, ''os'', means "deer"; the second element, ''car'', means "loving" or "friend", thus "deer-loving one" or "friend of deer" ...

as Esquivel *

Beau Melanson Beau may refer to: * Beau (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name, nickname or surname * Beau (guitarist) (born 1946), songwriter and 12-string guitar specialist * Beau (grape), another name for the Italian wine grape ...

Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; 147?–1528) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first embarked to Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. He came to participate in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camagüey ...

References

External links

''Cabeza de Vaca''
Reviews at Rottentomatoes * * 1991 films 1990s action films 1990s adventure films 1990s biographical films Mexican biographical films 1990s Spanish-language films Films about conquistadors Films directed by Nicolás Echevarría Indigenous cinema in Latin America Films set in the 1520s Films set in the 1530s Films set in the 1540s Mexican action films Films about castaways Cultural depictions of explorers Cultural depictions of Spanish men 1990s Mexican films {{bio-film-stub