Manuel Cabeza de Baca Biography

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Manuel Cabeza de Baca

Manuel Cabeza de Baca's regional, historical narrative, Historia de Vicente Silva (1896), came into existence in the context of late-nineteenth-century land grabbing in northern New Mexico (the loss of communal land holdings that were turned into private property by political bosses). This environment of struggle gave rise to the violence of the Gorras Blancas (White Caps), masked riders who cut fences, burned crops and buildings, tore up railroad tracks, and terrorized mainly wealthy Hispanics who were benefiting from the breakup of communal land. These masked raiders were supported by many towns-people, and local juries would not convict fence cutters. Cabeza de Baca, in his narrative, focuses on a single historical theme: that the Hispanic outlaws betrayed their community. He attempts to repair the social fabric that Silva and his men tore apart. In Historia de Vicente Silva, Cabeza de Baca tries to present the objective, narrative voice of the community through a narrator who is supposed to be a respected gentleman and an objective reporter.

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