Nicolas Echevarria's Cabeza De Vaca

The massive silver cross being carried by Native Americans in the closing of this movie sensationalize the way in which the Europeans conformed the 16th century world to Christianity. Cabeza de Vaca directed by Nicolas Echevarria gives insight into what was Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca’s extraordinary journey. Europeans wanted to explore distant lands to spread their beliefs and they needed explorers to do the job. Cabeza stepped up and the experience he got was life altering. When he returned to Spain his ideas of the Roman Catholics would never be the same. Nicolas Echevarria does an adequate job in on behalf of Cabezas story. His strong suits were taking the viewers back in time however he lacked the entertainment value that would allow more

people to enjoy this fascinating story.
Cabeza was treasurer to the Spanish expedition under Pánfilo de Narváez. Their ship wrecked off the coast of Florida in 1528 while trying to find gold and silver. Only 80 of the 600 crewmembers survived. Cabeza set sail for Texas and their ship wrecked once again. De Vaca searched for his Spanish comrades and instead stumbled upon the Iguase Indian tribe. There the natives enslaved them. This wreck began an 8-year journey in which him and his men traveled across America to the pacific coast of Mexico.
Before the footwork began, Native Americans made Cabeza a slave to a sorcerer.

The sorcerer and the fellow tribesmen humiliate Cabeza. Initially, Cabeza does not know why he is being held under their power until it becomes clear to him that he is being coached into the tribe. The sorcerer takes away an Indian’s eyesight in an odd, ritualistic way and is able to give the man back his sight. This is forthcoming for Cabeza to see and during this time he realizes his own healing powers. After performing this miracle he is set free from being enslaved. He luckily meets up with some of his shipmates and heads west to Mexico. After a never-ending journey through unbearable conditions he finally found his way back to Spanish

civilization.
Cabeza de Vaca criticized the Spanish explorers' treatment of Indians when he went home in making a hand written statement. He advocated for a new policy upon the crown however the statement didn’t stay in Spain for long. He served as a Mexican governor but was accused of corruption, assumedly because the relationship he held with the Indians. He eventually became a judge in Spain for the rest of his life.
What Echevarría does right in interpreting Alvars story focuses around reenacting the 16th century world.

The nudity in the film made it more realistic seeing as though that’s how the Indians actually were. The lack of subtitles for the tribesmen reenacts the displacement Cabeza felt, for ourselves. He is in a world previously unknown to him surrounded by barbaric people. The only thing that gets him through this hardship is following the routine set out for him. Nicolas Echevarria focuses a lot on the cultural habits and rituals of the tribe, which seem factual to what we have learned in history. Overall, with bloodshed and nudity being abundant we are able to sense his pain and discomfort. The documentary-like filming helps let us us absorb the reality of his situation. By the time the movie ends you’ll feel like you’ve traveled with de Vaca. The movie isn’t Hollywood standards by any means but it does a good job showing the Native Americans in their natural state before any European

imposition.
The negative aspects to this movie deal mostly with editing and acting skills. Cabeza tends to overreact a lot but if that wasn’t enough the locations of the set were off. In what is supposed to be swampy Florida there are mountains in the background. Also, some scenes do not blend well with their counterparts. The transition from swamp to desert is very abrupt which leaves viewers confused and unsettled. Finer transitions would of helped the flow of the movie. Throughout the entire movie we only witness 3 different tribes, which is doubtful. Nicolás Echevarría may have left out parts that were unimportant to him but it would have been nice to see the story translated for how powerful it really is. For example, the movie depicts most of the men being attacked when they reached land. However, some of the men actually suffered from numerous diseases and built weak rafts in hope to return to Cuba. Initially the natives welcomed them but with bringing disease, only Cabeza was truly accepted. The movie seems to be well researched but spends most of the time showing Cabezas physic transformation. The mythical happenings suggested in the movie were never referenced in the historical articles I’ve observed. It is merely mentioned that he was a spiritual healer and I feel the director may have added those scenes in for entertainment value as opposed to being factual.
In conclusion, Nicolas Echevarria had great intentions in producing this film but didn’t put the time in to make it great material. If this move had better editing and consecutive scenes I believe more people would want to hear his story. Álvar Núñez Cabeza was a changed man when he returned home from Spain. The image in the final closing of the movie with the massive silver cross carried by the Indians represents the final victory of the Spanish and the end of untouched land by the Europeans. The suffering of the Indians was vividly displayed as the Spaniards tried to cure them with the power of god. Cabeza realized that the Indians are not savages and did not need Christianity to be saved.