Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez, << kah VAY thah thay VAH kah, AHL vahr NOO nyayth >> (1490?-1557?), was a Spanish explorer in the Americas. He was the first European to describe American buffalo, also called bison. In 1527, Cabeza joined an expedition to Florida. After landing, he became separated from the ships. Cabeza and a few companions, including the black explorer Estevanico, sailed on a barge from northern Florida to an island off the Texas coast. They lived with American Indians for several years before reaching northwestern Mexico on foot. The explorers’ reports that great wealth lay north of Mexico attracted other Spanish explorers to the area, including Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and Hernando de Soto.
In 1540, Cabeza was appointed governor of Paraguay. He was a failure as governor, and the colonists later deposed him.
