Alex D. Krieger

We Came Naked and Barefoot
Author: Alex D Krieger, Margery H Krieger, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published In: Austin, TX
Date: 2002
Pgs: 318

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Survivor. Explorer. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca set out from Spain to colonize Florida in 1527. 600 men, 5 ships. The expedition failed. An open boat crossing of the Gulf of Mexico, shipwreck on the Texas coast, barging across river mouths and bays, captivity by native peoples, an overland journey from Texas to California, then onward to Mexico City. A travelogue, a history, a tale of survival...2,800-mile journey largely on foot. 3 Spaniards and an African; Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Andres Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Estevan.

Genre:
Academics
History
Non-fiction

Why this book:
Sounds like a helluva journey.
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Least Favorite Character:
Panfilo de Narvaez playing politics with the future of his country. Influence trading to promote his own position and give himself a larger profile both at court and in the world. He fails to lead his expedition in a logical and professional manner and through his actions causes the deaths of many of those who were part of his expedition. Narvaez was worried about Narvaez; not the success of his mission, not the welfare of his men.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
A lot of argument about where the landmarks of the de Vaca expedition are. And there are many learned opinions on the subject. Unfortunately all of these are based on the chronicle provided by de Vaca and by Oviedo. These men were starving, thirst, lost, at the mercy of tribes that may be friendly and may not. They were traveling through PTSD laced minefield where tomorrow they could be dead. They had watched their expedition whittled away from 600 persons with five ships to four men.

The historians trying to trace Cabeza de Vaca’s route run into a big problem. The landscape has changed in 500 years. Cities where none used to be. River channels that have moved. Islands where none used to be, or islands that have subsided back into the sea or riverbeds, or become peninsulas or vice versa. Using animal or plant life to indicate where something was 500 years ago is an exercise in futility. Evolution, climate change; both impact the siting of the route. And while the geology of mountains may not have changed significantly in those 500 years, the fact that de Vaca and Oviedo seemed to use different league measurements makes determination difficult. A river that may have been a big river could have been a small creek at flood stage. A small river could actually be a big river that is being fed from a drought area upstream. The margin of error may only be a couple hundred miles, but when you compound that over the entire length of the journey, that margin stretches and stretches like a hurricane forecast being taken as gospel when it is still over a thousand miles offshore.

They seemed to go from Texas to California in a flash.

Hmm Moments:
I had always assumed that Cabeza de Vaca was the leader of the expedition. Narvaez came as a surprise to me, especially in light of his ill suited efforts in that vein.

I had read the histories that purported that the Karankawa tribe of southeast Texas were cannibals. I had never heard the supposition that the Karankawa learned cannibalism from the Narvaez/de Vaca expedition’s travails, interesting.

Of course, the survivors write the history. Was Narvaez really this stuck-up-his-own-backside? Oviedo doesn’t dispute de Vaca’s account in his own history of the expedition and the survivor’s trek. Of course, Oviedo wasn’t privy to the Governor’s conferences, the few he held, where he made his decision, then sided with his yesmen. He seems to have brought along way too many yesmen. And then, ignored the minority opinion that if they had listened to de Vaca, they never would have become separated from the ships. And de Vaca’s pride in his honor wouldn’t let him take his own advice and take command of the ships when it was offered to him by Governor Narvaez. If he had, the ships wouldn’t have abandoned the men like they seem to have. I will need to make a closer study to see if the narrative references where the ships ended up or if they sailed out into eternity, becoming one of the early recorded/unrecorded victims of the Devil’s Triangle.

The in-law rules of the Indians of Malhado Island sounds a bit like wish fulfillment. Wonder what de Vaca’s relationship was like with his in-laws.

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
Could make an interesting movie.

Casting call:
Danny Trejo as Cabeza de Vaca. Would be great to see him play a trapped-by-his-own-honor character.

Antonio Banderas as Navarez. He can play prick well.

Djimon Hounsou as Estevan.
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Editorial Assessment:
Someone should have said something about the way this is basically a triple repetition of the same story told from scholarly discourse, from Cabeza de Vaca’s translated work, and from Gonzalo Fernando de Oviedo y Valdez’s Historia General y Natural De Las Indias.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
instant classic, real classic, real genre classic, really good book, glad I read it, it’s alright, meh!, why did I read this, not as good as I was lead to believe

Disposition of Book:
InterLibrary Loan…
La Marque Public Library
1011 Bayou Rd
La Marque, TX 77568

Dewey Decimal System:
970.01
KRI
2002

Would recommend to:
genre fans
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