Cabeza de vaca was known for ...

Answer: Cabeza de Vaca (1488/1490 - 1559) was known for being a Spanish conqueror who explored the South coast of North America and South America.

Explanation:

Cabeza de Vaca joined Pánfilo de Narváez Florida's expedition in 1527. The expedition was disastrous and most of the team were lost in the sea or died from cold and exposure. Cabeza de Vaca was captured by the Karankawa tribe were he was a servant and also became like a chaman for the tribe. He along with Alonso del Castillo, Andrés Dorantes, and the Moor Estevánico, all managed to escape to Mexico. They survived as traders and healers and chamanes. In 1536 they encountered a group of spanish men and Cabeza de Vaca returned to Spain.

In 1949 he became the General Captain of Rio de la Plata. For four years, he explored South America's unexplored territory. After that he was denounced by his subordinates and returned to Spain as a prisoner in 1544. The charges were rescinded shortly after and he spent the last years of his life writing and publishing his expeditions to the New World, in a unique chronicle "Los naufragios" (The shipwrecked).