he Spanish conquistador Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked in 1528 on what is now Galveston Island. He lived among America's native peoples for the next eight years, transcending enslavement to become recognized as a great spiritual leader. Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to explore what is now Texas and the Southwest. His account, La relación, offers a remarkable historical portrait. It is also one of humankind's great adventure stories.

An original 1555 edition of La relación resides at the Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos.