The "Gasparilla Festival" became a stand-alone event in 1913, and with exception of hiatuses during the world wars and on two other occasions, it has been celebrated every year since. [3][1], Though the brochure presents its "romantic" history of Gaspar as well-established truth, it is entirely fictional. Gasparilla faced controversy in the early 1990s for being a mostly white, male event. The parade was even cancelled in 1991 over disputes about diversity. [1], The cover of the brochure featured a blood-dripping color illustration of Gaspar, and the introduction claimed that the tale of the pirate contained therein was gleaned from stories told by the recently deceased John Gmez, who was described as the longest-lived member the crew. [58] The city of Tampa hastily put together a replacement parade called "Bamboleo", which was billed as a "multicultural festival" and did not include pirates. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and debauchery. Pirates. How to Participate in Gasparilla; Pirate Login; Open Mobile Menu. On Saturday, several hundred thousand people will line Bayshore Boulevard and the streets of downtown Tampa for the invasion and parade. [48] Gasparilla became an official holiday in Tampa during this time, with local schools and government offices closed for the day. Still she refused, and he killed her in a rage (or alternately, because his crew demanded her death). We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. The story of Jos Gaspar's life and career vary in different tellings, especially regarding his origin. Jos Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla (supposedly lived c. 1756 - 1821), is an apocryphal Spanish pirate who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico from his base in southwest Florida during Florida's second Spanish period (1783 to 1821). YMKG was instrumental in establishing the Inter-Krewe Council, which has grown to include more than 60 other Krewes. [7], There is no evidence to support the claim that several local place names in southwest Florida originated with Gaspar, as many appeared on maps drawn long before his supposedly arrival in the 1780s. '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. [52] Later in 1991, the Krewe of Gasparilla agreed to accept black members and allow more krewes to participate in the parade, and Gasparilla returned for 1992. More than a century. 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. [18][5] However, amateur gold seekers have repeatedly disrupted nearby archeological sites, often in violation of Florida law. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) For Richard Chapman, Gasparilla is a story about family. For several decades, the parade route ended at Plant Field, where the Florida State Fair was taking place, drawing more attendees to the simultaneous events. [1] It also sought to connect Gaspar to Charlotte Harbor by claiming that his sprawling home base had encompassed several islands in the area. Gasparilla parade will have four generations of one family this year Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley formed in 1992 and was first all-female group. 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 is located in Placida, the 33946 zipcode, and the Charlotte. In 2004, YMKG published a new centennial history of the organization. Recent examples include September 2019 episodes of the TV series, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 17:26. In 1988, the Parade of Pirates was moved to the first Saturday in February to make it easier for residents of other communities to take part in the festivities. Whatever his supposed origins, the legends agree that Gaspar fled to the virtually uninhabited southwestern coast of Spanish Florida in the 1780s and established his "pirate kingdom" on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor, south of Tampa Bay. [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. Look closely and you can spot pirates on the Jose Gasparilla II in 1959 enjoying some adult beverages as they invade the city. Some versions of the legend claim that Gaspar entrusted Lopez with his personal log or diary, which have been cited as sources for information about the pirate although neither has ever been produced. "Supersized Gasparilla" saw a record attendance of about 750,000, but though the event was generally well received, the city has opted not to reschedule the parade to coincide with subsequent Superbowls played in Tampa due to the serious challenges posed by large crowds and snarled traffic. The annual Gasparilla celebration is one of Tampa Bays biggest social events, drawing in hundreds of thousands of people to dress up as pirates and eat, drink and be merry. Members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, accompanied by a flotilla of hundreds of private boats, sail across Tampa Bay to downtown Tampa on the Jos Gasparilla, a 165' long "pirate" ship which was specially built for this purpose in 1954. "[3] The earliest known written mention of Jos Gaspar was a short biography included in an early 1900s promotional brochure for the Gasparilla Inn on Gasparilla Island at Charlotte Harbor, the author of which freely admitted that the dramatic tale was a work of fiction "without a true fact in it". [20], Though very popular now, beads were rarely seen at Gasparilla Parades before the 1990s. [1], While Gaspar is a popular figure in Florida folklore, there is no evidence that he actually existed. So, let's get to it! [55] The current ship has crossed Tampa Bay to lead every Gasparilla invasion since its launching in 1954 except for 1971, when bad weather and rough seas cancelled the flotilla, though not the parade. I cover health care for WUSF and the statewide journalism collaborative Health News Florida. Though people dressing up in costumes and invading the city may seem like silly fun, the tradition has also played an important role in Tampas high society. The award-winning Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns for its 53rd year on March 4th and 5th. 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". so you can be prepared. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. [11] The sails are merely decorative and the "pirate ship" has no engine, so on Gasparilla Day, it is guided through the flotilla of accompanying smaller vessels by three tugboats helmed by experienced harbor pilots. King Daniel - Gasparilla King of the Pirates | Susan Wolf Johnson But Westcott, who has never missed a Queen's Party, fails to attend his own coronation . Krewe of Venus was formed in 1966 and was the first krewe to allow women to join. The focal point is still an "invasion" by Jos Gaspar and his crew, which takes place on the last Saturday in January. in the manner of the buccaneers! He talks about what goes into putting on the massive event and how it has expanded over the years. 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. Gasparilla Pirate Fest is on January 28, 2023 with the Parade of Pirates stepping off at 1pm. We went with these friends to find it", "Chamber Enlivened by Whiskey Creek, Pirate History", "The Jose Gasparilla and Pirates: Tampa's Own Buccaneer", "Gasparilla 2018: The history behind Tampa's pirate festival", "Ultimate Gasparilla Guide for 2023: Schedule, Parking, Where to Watch + MORE", "Gasparilla 2021 Parades Postponed Because of COVID-19", "Gasparilla 2021 canceled due to coronavirus concerns", A diverse Gasparilla appeases its critics, "A year away, Tampa prepares for back-to-back Gasparilla and Super Bowl weekends", "Meet the sober hands at the wheel of the Gasparilla pirate ship", "Diverse Gasparilla parade has transcended insult of racism", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gasparilla_Pirate_Festival&oldid=1142684736, About two weeks before the Parade of Pirates, a. The first Gasparilla parade was held in May 1904, after Tampa Tribune society editor Louise Frances Dodge and Tampa's director of customs George Hardee decided to combine elements of New Orleans Mardi Gras with a pirate theme to promote and enliven Tampa's May Day celebration. Gaspar is said to have taken many ships and held many female hostages for ransom while preying on shipping in the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to the Spanish main aboard his flagship, the Floriblanca. What are those large pyramids next to the Skyway? When you are 11 or 12 you are a page, so you serve at the coronation and you walk behind the king or the queen, so you participate, Chapman explained. Tampas first krewe, the Ye Mystic Krewe is one of more than 100 organizations taking part in the festivities. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. Then we meet Don Barnes, Executive Officer ofYe Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the group that helped found the festival. [7], The Gasparilla Pirate Festival has been popular in Tampa since its inception and has grown into the third largest parade in the United States. [36], A wide variety of local businesses, organzations, and smaller events ranging from restaurants to beauty pageants to classic car shows and food festivals also use the names "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla"; according to the Florida Department of State, over 100 entities have registered related names. Most stories agree he was an aristocratic Spanish Navy Officer who later. [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. [28] It is billed as a "family friendly" event, as unlike during the Parade of Pirates, alcohol is not allowed along the parade route, which runs along Bayshore Boulevard and is about half as long as the main Gasparilla Parade. Some versions of the story claim that one of the escapees was John Gmez, who would tell the tale to subsequent generations. [17], Currently, over fifty krewes march in the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates, with smaller krewes participating on a rotating basis due to the limited number of available slots. 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. [7][3], In still other versions, Gaspar was a brilliant Spanish admiral of questionable character who actually succeeded in stealing the crown jewels. 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. [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. The vast majority of loot taken by real-life pirates consisted not of gold doubloons but of easily liquidated trade goods, and there were no nearby towns where stolen cargo could be sold. Captiva Island was said to be where his captives were held, Sanibel Island was named after Gaspar's love interest, and his home was on Gasparilla Island - "Taking the best of everything when a capture was made, he chose the best of the islands in Charlotte Harbor for his own secret haunts," it declared. FL lawmaker wants political bloggers to be registered, Man accused of dumping 30 mattresses in Key West:, Spirit flight makes emergency landing in FL due to, FL man wins lottery, state claims he owes them money, Jack in the Box coming to Florida, seeking franchisees, Disney Worlds Typhoon Lagoon water park set to reopen, Universal Orlando adds vegan Butterbeer to menus, 4 new things to check out at the FL Strawberry Festival, Co-workers win $50K after buying ticket during lunch. Gasparilla history explained, legend of Jose Gaspar | wtsp.com - KTVB "In 1783, having become a traitor and a pirate, Jos Gaspar gave the name of "Gasparilla" to himself as well as to his ship and the island in Charlotte Harbor, on the west coast of Florida near. Gasparilla was heavily criticized in the early 1990s for being mostly white and male. However, when the pirates fired a warning shot, their intended victim raised an American flag to reveal that it was no merchant vessel, but the United States Navy pirate hunting schooner USS Enterprise in disguise. Gasparilla began in 1904 when Miss Louise Francis Dodge, society editor of the Tampa Tribune, and George W. Hardee, then with the federal government in Tampa, conspired to promote the City of Tampa and its May Day celebration. Local place names mentioned were established long before the pirate's supposed arrival, and despite lurid tales regarding the uncovering of gold and human remains, no such artifacts or any other physical evidence of Gaspar's "regal" home base, victims, or treasure has ever been found on Gasparilla Island or anywhere else in the Charlotte Harbor area. Gasparilla is here! 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. Along with a factual history of the krewe and the Gasparilla festival up to that point, the volume included a version of the legend of Jos Gaspar in which he was depicted as a "respectable" and "courtly" pirate who only resorted to violence when absolutely necessary. [43][41]. Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602) is Tampa's new outdoor waterfront destination. [3][7][5][18], In 1949, a retired Pat Lemoyne gave a history lecture at a Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce function in which he cheerfully admitted that his biography of Jos Gaspar was a "cockeyed lie without a true fact in it" and that he had written the brochure in a dramatic style that "tourists like to hear". The history of Gasparilla and legacy of Jose Gaspar | wtsp.com Though it once had the reputation of being the most "adult-oriented" parade of Tampa's Gasparilla season, the city has tried to reduce public drunkenness and other unruly behavior in recent years and has promoted the parade as a family-friendly event, with some success. Gasparilla, the city's most popular annual event, centered around a pirate-themed parade, resulted from a conversation seeking to spice up an existing parade.. Though people dressing up in costumes and "invading" the city may seem like silly fun, the tradition has also played an important role in Tampa's high society. [1] Finally, it claimed that a burial mound "forty feet high and four hundred feet in circumference" near Gasparilla Island had been found to contain "ornaments of gold and silver" along with "hundreds of human skeletons", but that the bulk of the buccaneer's vast cache of buried treasure "still lies unmoved" nearby, in the vicinity of the Gasparilla Inn. [35], Other large-scale events held during the Gasparilla season include the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts (established 1970), the Tampa Rough Rider's St. Patrick's Day Parade (first held in 1977), the Gasparilla Distance Classic road race (established 1978), the Gasparilla Film Festival (established 2006), the Gasparilla Music Festival (established 2013), and the Gasparilla Bowl college football game (renamed in 2018). [Photo by the Burgert Brothers. [8] Different versions of the story say that he was either a Spanish nobleman and advisor to King Charles III of Spain who was exiled after a romantic scandal in court, a traitorous admiral of the Spanish Royal Navy who stole a ship and fled when his treachery was revealed, or an ambitious young officer in the Spanish navy who was driven to mutiny by a tyrannically cruel captain. This document recounts the Gasparilla legend first published in 1936 but adds a coda which concedes that scholarly research conducted in both Spanish and American archives has not uncovered any evidence of Gaspar's existence. "Pirates" with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla really embrace their roles in the 1954 invasion. [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. Empathizing with his friend's plight, Gaspar eventually allowed Lopez to return home. Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns to Tampa. Here's what to know [3] His book repeated claims that a "burying ground" containing the "bleached bones" of Gaspar's many victims had recently been discovered on Gasparilla Island, that a tall "burial mound" built by a "prehistoric race" had been excavated and found to be full of gold and silver artifacts along with "hundreds of human skeletons", and that a dying John Gmez had confessed to witnessing the murder of the "Little Spanish princess" and sketched a map that led searchers to her body. World War II froze Gasparilla from 1941-47, diverting funds to buy war bonds, and leaving 33rd king and queen, James T. Swann Jr. and Queen Ruth Binnicker, on the throne, the only royals to marry . Kite-Powell said it wasnt always easy to pull off such an invasion by sea. The 1966 Boat Parade in Tampa Harbor where Gasparilla attacks the City and it "surrenders.". Heres what to know, After nearly a century of fixing Tampas flat tires, downtown Firestone closes, West Tampa plumber was able to achieve a lot by being kind, Rays face Braves with Shane McClanahan on the mound today, Pinellas County education is getting dragged into a medieval inquisitors dungeon | Letters. [3], The parade is organized by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG), a local organization modeled after the "krewes" of Mardi Gras in New Orleans who play the parts of Gaspar and his crew. [9][10][11] The "pirate ship" fires a near-continuous barrage of loud mini-canons during its journey between Davis Island and Harbour Island accompanied by hundreds of smaller private boats. The Story of Gasparilla, booklet, 1946. The legend exists, and that's what matters. For most of the 20th century, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the only organization hosting the parade, was very exclusive. )[13], During the treasure distribution process, a lookout spotted what appeared to be a vulnerable British merchant ship sailing nearby. Don't worry, there aren't actually any canon balls inside. Lane Riverfront Park to . Participation - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla Alcohol has long played a role in Gasparilla, as it has with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult.

Kings County Hospital Residency, Crime Map Near Milan, Metropolitan City Of Milan, How Tall Is Richard Watterson, Oral Side Effects After Covid Vaccine, Articles K