The shipwreck as an operator of discursive and identity differences: the case of Álvarez Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

Abstract

In this article, we discuss that one of the most important aspects of Naufragios (1542) by Cabeza de Vaca is the cultural clash between Europeans and Native Americans, and the consequent identity transformations. Upon reflection on the difference and the identity transformation of those colonized and conquered, we analyze the narrative composition of this account, as well as the historical data presented. However, it will be observed that instead of thinking about the differences that potentially composed the traveler being and the one conquered, there are a strong critical tendency that only mythologizing those subjects, representing the Iberian travelers like someone completely believer in their material wishes and imaginations. Thus, our aim is to evaluate Cabeza de Vaca as an example of a thirsty traveler for riches who is able to experience the new moving between cultures without the dominance of the marvelous imaginary.