Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn meets with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla members in 2019 to "negotiate a peaceful surrender of the city," part of the tradition leading up to the annual Parade of Pirates. On Sanibel Island a conference was held by all the pirates, and with the exception of Gasparilla, Baker, Caesar, and Old King John, all sailed away to be heard of no more. [6], In some versions of the story, Gaspar began life as a poverty-stricken Spanish youth who kidnapped a young girl for ransom. [36] Under the guise of "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla" (YMKG), an organization modeled after the New Orleans Mardi Gras krewes, the "invaders" donned pirate costumes and rode through the streets on horseback encouraging residents to follow them to the festivities. [2] No contemporaneous mention of his life or exploits have been found in Spanish or American ship logs, court records, newspapers, or other archives, and no physical artifacts linked to Gaspar have been discovered in the area where he supposedly established his "pirate kingdom. Gaspar could not resist taking one last prize, so he led his crew aboard the Floriblanca to pursue their prey. [7][3][11], Most versions of the legend agree that Jos Gaspar met his end in late 1821, soon after Spain transferred control of the Florida Territory to the United States. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Lemoyne described Gmez as a "colorful" eccentric who claimed to have been a pirate in order to sell fake treasure maps to "the gullible" for a "fancy figure". The disappearance of a Tampa Bay blue blood rattles the skeletons in his family's closet. Pirates. . 2023 Gasparilla Parade Information | City of Tampa Though written in the style of a light adventure novel, the narrator claimed that it was a true tale gleaned from a "mouse-eaten Cuban manuscript" supposedly written by Jos Gaspar's cousin Leon and corroborated with an old map found at a used bookstore, neither of which were made public. The noble woman rejected the pirate's advances until he threatened to behead her if she would not submit to his lust. The story of Gasparilla and his pirates has lent a certain flair of mystery and adventure to Florida's West Coast since the late 1800s. [17] The first occurrence consisted of several dozen local businessmen disguising themselves as pirates, riding horses through town to simulate a surprise pirate invasion, and encouraging startled observers to follow them to the May Day festival. He explained that the story had been inspired by John Gmez's tall tales, which Lemoyne had heard second-hand. [37] The mayor of Tampa then surrenders the key of the city to the "pirate captain", and a "victory parade" ensues down Bayshore Boulevard. Kings & Queens. From March 4-5, event-goers can come out to Julian B. Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. Gasparilla Island is a barrier island just north of the mouth of Charlotte Harbor that is almost 7 miles (11km) long and less than 1 mile (1.6km) across at its widest point. [9] This is unlikely, as there is no record of Lafitte spending time on the southwest Florida coast, and he died in Mexico before Gaspar's supposed demise. Taken together, the events of Tampa's Gasparilla Season have an estimated local economic impact of about $40 million.[4]. The connection was first made soon after his death in 1900, when a promotional pamphlet for a Charlotte Harbor resort hotel (see below) claimed that the late John Gmez was the primary source of its tale of the pirate Gasparilla. Travel through time with our '100 doubloons' of Gasparilla in Tampa Bay The Gasparilla Innin 1913]. In the festivals early years the invasion was done on horseback. [2] The centerpiece of the festivities is the Parade of Pirates (often referred to as the Gasparilla Parade), which is a friendly invasion by the mythical pirate Jos Gaspar (also known as Gasparilla), who is a popular figure in Florida folklore despite the fact that he did not exist. Pirates with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla fill up the 168-ft. Jose Gasparilla II for the annual invasion. 50 years ago, guns were everywhere", "Gasparilla Pirates Try to Shed Old Image", "Ybor Naval invasion begins Gasparilla festivities", "Ybor Naval Battle Clears Way For Gasparilla Invasion", "Bob Buckhorn makes his last stand against Gasparilla pirates", "Gasparilla Pirate Fest - Tampa, Florida", "Gasparilla Children's Parade 2023 | What You Need to Know Before You Go - Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine", "2018 Children's Gasparilla Parade: Guide and insider tips", "The Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago historical marker", "The Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago official website", "Ybor's Knight parade, once Gasparilla's wild child, cleans up image", "Palma Ceia Country Club hosts long-time event rich in tradition", "Ye Mystic Krewe does not own the name 'Gasparilla.' Since 2005, it has been held on the last Saturday in January. Once the invasion begins, the boats need to arrive at the convention center within 90 minutes so the pirates can confront the mayor precisely at 1 p.m. Hell hopefully hand over the key to the city so the parade can start and everything can wrap up by early evening. [31], The Sant'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade (sometimes referred to as the "Gasparilla Night Parade") has been organized since 1972 by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago. [22] His self-reported age and birthplace varied, even on official documents. [48] Gasparilla became an official holiday in Tampa during this time, with local schools and government offices closed for the day. 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2, Placida, FL 33946 | Redfin Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602) is Tampa's new outdoor waterfront destination. [3], Gaspar has been associated with various other pirates, both historical and not. Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult. Gasparilla Pirate Fest is on January 28, 2023 with the Parade of Pirates stepping off at 1pm. Still she refused, and he killed her in a rage (or alternately, because his crew demanded her death). [3] Lambright claimed that his biography of Gaspar was supported by "unquestionable records", including a diary written by the pirate himself and taken to Spain by a member of his crew, perhaps Juan Gmez. But Barnes said things started to get out of hand and reached a low point around 2010, when the festival saw hundreds of arrests related to underage drinking and confrontations between drunk people. It returned in 1956 as the Gasparilla Invitational Tournament, an amateur competition which has been held annually ever since. & Queen Anne Lawson Kelley, King William L. (Larry) Smith & Queen India Powell Stallings, King J. Rex Farrior, III & Queen Laura Elizabeth Straske, King Gary W. Harrod & Queen Margo Hall Ennis, King Christopher C. Lykes & Queen Courtney Laurens Farrior, King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske, King CVIII Richard McKinley Chapman III & Queen CVIII Caroline Grace Dearing Lackman, Copyright @ 2023 Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - All Rights Reserved |. Rainy weather helped to dampen the crowds, and the replacement was considered a "flop". 2023 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts to take over Julian B. Lane [3][7] While the USS Enterprise was assigned to the West Indies Squadron tasked with suppressing piracy in the Caribbean, it is documented to have been in Cuba in December 1821, not in Charlotte Harbor, where Gaspar's last battle is said to have taken place. The History Of Gasparilla And Its 'Mystic' Pirates "[3][31], Beater published several additional books about southwest Florida; some marketed as fiction, some as non-fiction, and some as guidebooks for tourists, all including tongue-in-cheek dramatic tales about Gaspar and other pirates. [17], In 1949, Fort Myers author Jack Beater published a mass-market paperback version of the Gaspar legend called The Gasparilla Story. [3] Gaspar established a base on Gasparilla Island and was soon the feared scourge of the Gulf of Mexico and the Spanish Main, taking many ships as prizes and amassing a huge treasure cache in the period coinciding with the second Spanish rule of Florida. "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla" (YMKG) came together informally to stage the first pirate "invasion" in 1904 and has evolved into a registered non-profit organization which has organized the Gasparilla Parade ever since. Tampa's most prized tradition was sparked 118 years ago and continues to be shrouded in some mystery. Girl "pirates," 1968, in the ratlines of a ship. Pirates have fired off canons on the Jose Gasparilla II as the ship "invades" Tampa Bay since it was built in 1954. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. Gasparilla 2023 guide: Parking, transportation, what to wear "Gasparilla Island" appears on Spanish and English maps made in the early 1700s, and contemporary documents suggest that the barrier island was named for Friar Gaspar, a Spanish missionary who visited the native Calusa in the 1600s. [3], Gmez's uncertain birth was said to be just the beginning of an exceedingly long and adventure-filled life. [20], Though very popular now, beads were rarely seen at Gasparilla Parades before the 1990s. [11], The membership of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla is overwhelmingly made up of Tampa's business and civic leaders, which meant that for many decades, the organization was exclusively white and male, leading to some resentment from unrepresented groups. Various activities and events for children are held in and around downtown Tampa in the hours before the Children's Parade, including the Preschooler's Stroll, which is a short, informal parade of small children riding pirate-themed wagons, strollers, bicycles, and scooters that runs for a few blocks along Bayshore Boulevard. Two other major parades during this time are the Gasparilla Children's Parade, which is held on Bayshore Boulevard one week before the main parade, and the Sant'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade, which is organized by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City two weeks after the main parade. [46] The second Gasparilla the following year was not a surprise, as every automobile owner in town was invited to join the mounted pirates in the parade. King Daniel - Gasparilla King of the Pirates | Susan Wolf Johnson [52] The city and the National Football League put pressure on the Krewe of Gasparilla to admit African-American members before the event, but the organization refused and cancelled Gasparilla instead. [14][3] In addition, few pirates of any age based their operations along Florida's west coast. To learn more, read this article. [42][43] Besides promotional material and contact information for the Gasparilla Inn, the brochure prominently featured the "Story of Jose Gasparilla," the "last of the Buccaneers" who it said had terrorized the Gulf of Mexico for almost 40 years. Initially, they modeled themselves after the Krewe of Rex and were knights or reflected royalty. [37], Crowd size for the Parade of Pirates is typically about 300,000, making it the third largest parade in the United States, and an estimated 1,000,000 people attend at least one Gasparilla event in a given year. [38], The theme of the Gasparilla Festival was inspired by the legend of the pirate Jos Gaspar, who supposedly operated off the west coast of Spanish Florida from the 1780s until the 1820s. European nations began to make a concerted effort to suppress piracy in the early 1700s, and by 1730, every major pirate of the "golden age" era had been killed. Alcohol has long played a role in Gasparilla, as it has with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. His works and the writings of other local authors with similar themes served to further expand the story of Gaspar while also sowing confusion about the veracity of the legend. When Daniel Westcott, the newly chosen Gasparilla King of Tampa Bay, Florida, goes missing in 1972, the remaining Westcotts are thrown into chaos. [21] This tradition was restricted in the interest of safety in 1992 and ended entirely several years later. Howd you do it? [50][51], In 2001, the Parade of Pirates was held a week earlier than usual to coincide with Super Bowl XXXV, which was played in Tampa the next day. [18][7][3][16], And while rumors of mysterious maps and gold coins have prompted professional and amateur treasure hunters to conduct many searches for Gaspar's lost cache over the years, there has been no documented recovery of any part of his plunder or the remains of his many alleged victims. Gaspar, Jos, -- 1756-1821. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and. A fierce battle ensued in which the Floriblanca was hulled several times below the waterline and began to sink. Here's where to find them", "Hundreds of volunteers with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful clean up Gasparilla litter", "Think Gasparilla is rowdy now? Gasparilla faced controversy in the early 1990s for being a mostly white, male event. ", "Aboard Tampa's pirate ship, the 'Jose Gasparilla', "Tampa Mayor Buckhorn defies Gasparilla pirates, keeps key to city", "Experience the Fun & Excitement of Gasparilla Tampa Bay", "8 things you may not know about Gasparilla", Seed for Gasparilla was planted in the Tribune's old newsroom | TBO.com, "Travel through time with our '100 doubloons' of Gasparilla in Tampa Bay", "Need beads for Gasparilla? They wanted to jazz up Tampas annual May Day celebration and decided to combine elements of a New Orleans Mardi Gras festival with new traditions inspired by legendary pirate Jose Gaspar. For all the art lovers out there, the 2023 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is returning to Tampa this coming weekend. It all started in the newsroom of the now-defunct Tampa Morning Tribune, where Society Page Editor Louise Francis Dodge sought to . The legend of Jos Gaspar, according to an account by Andr-Marcel d'Ans and translated by Marie-Jole Ingalls, Gaspar was a Spanish naval officer, who in the early 1780s mutinied against his. [18][5] However, amateur gold seekers have repeatedly disrupted nearby archeological sites, often in violation of Florida law. There are 65 different krewes, a lot of family-style krewes, mixed krewes as far as male-female, cultural I think that we have everything you could possibly imagine and if we dont, well find room for it, he said. The 1935 edition had the largest prize purse on that year's PGA Tour ($4000), but with the deepening of the Great Depression, the tournament was discontinued thereafter. [33][6][34], Besides the three main parades and the many galas, parties, and fundraisers hosted by individual krewes, Tampa has long hosted a variety of other Gasparilla-related events from approximately January through March. The History of Gasparilla Legend has it that a Spanish pirate named Jos Gaspar terrorized his way up and down the west coast of Florida in the late 18th and 19th centuries. At least a portion of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates has traversed Bayshore Boulevard into downtown almost since its inception. [8], Most of the organizations, events, and businesses who use "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" are not affiliated with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla or the City of Tampa, neither of which owns the monikers. Gasparilla is one day out of the year, you celebrate the tradition, but really 364 days out of the year youre here working, being part of Tampa, you live here, you worship here, you support all of the organizations here, you try to make this a great place, said Chapman. And a few pigs and chickens didnt make it from one end of the invasion to the other.". See Gasparilla photos from every decade since the first invasion in 1904 So, let's get to it! The two most common throws before that were plastic or metal commemorative coins produced annually by various krewes and spent gun cartridges. [19] So many beads are thrown that in recent years, the city has organized post-parade volunteer cleanup efforts which annually collect thousands of pounds of plastic from the parade route and nearby Tampa Bay. The legend of Jose Gaspar. The truth is that there never was a pirate named "Gasparilla.". therefore, in theory, it was the old haunt of the king of the pirates. Lane Riverfront Park in downtown Tampa, the festival attracts over 30,000 visitors. [3], In the 1930s, construction worker Ernesto Lopez showed his family a mysterious box he claimed to have found while working with a repair crew on the Cass Street Bridge in downtown Tampa. Part of the weekend programming includes the Emerging Artists Program, which provides . Over 300,000 spectators are expected to line the streets to watch the Ashley Children's Gasparilla Parade presented by Chick-fil-A on January 21, 2023 and the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest on January 28, 2023. Karl E. Holland / State Library & Archives of Florida. [1][8], In all versions, the renegade settled along the virtually uninhabited southwest coast of Spanish Florida around 1783 and turned to piracy aboard his ship, the Floriblanca. [52][60] The number of krewes and similar civic organizations has continued to grow in recent years, dampening controversies over inclusion. 'Milo' Vega & Queen Shirley Morgan, King Ed K. Nelson Jr. & Queen Mary Louise Lee, King James L. Ferman & Queen Pamela Logan, King Blackburn W. Lowry & Queen Betsy Allison, King Fred S. Johnston & Queen Stella Louise Ferguson, King H. Grady Lester Jr. & Queen Lavinia Lee Witt, King Richard S. McKay & Queen Bonnie Grace Hall, King J.H. It's Gasparilla arts season. And on that legend, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla was founded 100 years ago. Though there is no evidence he actually existed, Gaspar was adopted patron rogue of this new Tampa celebration.

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