A Brief History of Cabeza de Vaca and La relación Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca was born into the Spanish aristocracy around He took the title Cabeza de Vaca, meaning "head of a cow," from his mother's side of the family. (One of her ancestors--a shepherd named Martin Alhaja--had helped the Spanish Christians win a decisive battle against their Moorish oppressors in by marking an.