Explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was born in 1490, in Extremadura, Castile. He was treasurer to the Spanish expedition under Panfilo de Narvaez that reached what is now Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1528. By September all but his party of 60 had perished; it reached the shore near present-day Galveston, Texas. He spent eight year in Texas and was appointed governor of the province of Rio de la Plata.