 of Cabeza de Vaca's text are "in one way or another, our [Chicano] very own" (4). He believes that Cabeza de Vaca's experiences in the New World changed him forever and that his "American alterability distinguished him from other Spaniards" (16). Juan-Novoa concludes by asserting that Cabeza de Vaca's attributes are Chicano and Relacion represents Cabeza de Vaca's " metamorphosis" as a "founding" text of Chicano culture and literature (5).
- Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Nunez. The Account: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion. Trans. Martin Favata and Jose Fernandez. Houston: Arte Publico P, 1993.
- Favata and Fernandez's edition is a 1993 translation of Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion published in Valladolid in 1555. They provide extensive annotations on historic, geographic, and environmental issues relating to the text.
- Cebollero, Pedro. "The Double Discourse of Indian Mythicizing in Cabeza de Vaca's Naufragios." Hispanic Journal 28.1 (2007): 23-34.
- Cebollero argues that in Cabeza de Vaca's Naufragios there is a dual representation of the Amerindians, both as noble savages and as demons (having demonic attributes and as evil people). This dual discourse is based on evangelical and militaristic goals, and the two roles are not contradictory. Rather, the goals complement one another. Cebollero strengthens his argument by pointing out that the two representations are supported through a religious basis in historical Christian arguments, which he details in his work.
- Dowling, Lee. "Story vs. Discourse In the Chronicle of the Indies: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion." Hispanic Journal 5 (1984): 89-99.
- Dowling's central argument is that many texts such as Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion create a tension for the modern reader because of the "chronicle's use of devices commonly associated with fiction and a reader's knowledge that what he is reading is not fiction but history" (89). He notes that the fictional element is a feature of "chronicle discourse" (such as Cabeza de Vaca's), therefore Cabeza de Vaca's work is of interest to literary scholars as well as historians, ethnographers, and historians. Dowling focuses on the evaluative techniques of Cabeza de Vaca and its intertextual importance and concludes by reasserting the place of Cabeza de Vaca's account as historical record.
- Fellner, Astrid M. "Performing Cultural Memory: Scenarios of Colonial Encounter in the Writings of John Smith, Cabeza de Vaca, and Jacques Cartier." Transnational American Memories: Media and Cultural Memory. Ed. Udo J. Hebel. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2009.
- Fellner analyzes the conquest of the Americas from a performance related perspective. Touching on mysterious figures like the infamous Don Luis, Opechancanough, and Powhatan, and treating these historical figures like characters, Fellner delves into the inconsistencies and confusion inducing portions of American history. He advocates that this "notion of performance. . . . makes visible" the elements of American history that are already there, but otherwise overlooked. By examining one "scene" of Cabeza de Vaca's journey across the southern United States in which the men happened upon mysterious dead bodies, Fellner draws out the implications of what he calls the "performative practices" of American history. He also uses the scenario to highlight the value of knowledge over the value of gold -- a notion that Cabeza de Vaca seemingly begins to understand but perhaps not fully.
- Gomez-Galisteo, Carmen. "The Conquistador Who Wrote a Captivity Narrative: Cabeza de Vaca's Naufragios as a Captivity Narrative." Americana: E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary 4.2 (2008): n.p.
- Gomez-Galisteo highlights the ways in which Cabeza de Vaca's "official report" on his conquest that he sent to Spain is really more of a captivity narrative. Explaining the technical elements of captivity narratives, Gomez-Galisteo analyzes the religious and moral content of Cabeza de Vaca's work. He compares Cabeza de Vaca's captivity narrative to those of Puritans, highlighting the differences and ultimately concluding that Ca