Events kick-off at 9 am and continue through 10 pm. The Gasparilla Innin 1913]. In Tampa, rare Gasparilla beads are the real treasure Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult. 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. For men, getting the chance to don a pirate costume and join the invasion could be a very . Look closely and you can spot pirates on the Jose Gasparilla II in 1959 enjoying some adult beverages as they invade the city. Kings & Queens - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla The History of Gasparilla; The Legend of Jose Gasparilla; Gallery; Calendar; Participation. [1] It also sought to connect Gaspar to Charlotte Harbor by claiming that his sprawling home base had encompassed several islands in the area. There is actually one example of when a ship wasnt totally empty of its cargo and that cargo was livestock pigs and chickens. [11], For over half a century, various Gasparilla pirate ships would sail about half a mile up the Hillsborough River to near the University of Tampa, where members of YMKG would disembark for the parade. [1] Most of his surviving crew were captured and hanged, but a few escaped or were imprisoned. 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. The Children's Parade was first held in 1947 and has grown over the years, usually drawing about 100,000 attendees. Most agree that Gaspar was born in Spain about 1756, served in the Spanish Navy until turning to piracy about 1783, and met his end in southwest Florida during a battle against the United States Navy in late 1821. [7][27][22], Between his propensity for telling entertaining stories and his real skills as a boat pilot and outdoorsman, Gmez became a popular fishing and hunting guide along Florida's west coast, leading to his being mentioned in several issues of Forest and Stream, an early conservationist magazine. 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.' [56] However, due to practical concerns, participation in the Parade of Pirates has been limited to fifty krewes per year, with smaller krewes taking turns on a rotating basis. 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). For decades, many members of YMKG walked the parade route armed with six-shooters or other handguns loaded with blanks which they frequently fired in the air. Rather than surrender, Gaspar supposedly wrapped an anchor chain around his waist and leapt from the bow, dramatically shouting "Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's!" Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [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. . The legend states that Gaspar terrorized the western coastal waters of Florida in the late 18th to early 19th century. Last year about 1,500 boats joined in on the invasion. [32] The Knight Parade features a similar mix of participants as the Parade of Pirates, with most of the floats are brightly illuminated since the event begins after dark. [41][3], The first written account of Jos Gaspar appeared in the early 1900s as part of an advertising brochure for the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. [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. [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. [18] Since 2011, the parade route has ended at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the evening. He said Gasparilla organizers have worked hard to combat that with efforts like ramping up police presence along the parade route, doing educational outreach and limiting the amount of alcohol people can bring and buy. As the planning has become more complicated over the years, however, the parade has accepted corporate sponsorships to defray costs and hired EventFest to coordinate the event with the city. [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. [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. Dozens of other Krewes have joined the festivities over the years, which has grown into of one of the largest parades in the United States. The theme and focal point of Gasparilla is a friendly "invasion" by mythical pirate Jos Gaspar and his crew, who are portrayed by members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG), an organization created for this purpose in 1904. [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. Check out our listof street closures, parking info, etc. 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. More than a century. His family has been a part of the fun for decades. Some versions of Gaspar's story claim that he often partnered with the real pirate Pierre Lafitte and that Lafitte barely escaped the battle in which Gaspar was killed. [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. Photos from the past show the festivities have changed over the decades. 8 fun facts you might not know about Gasparilla - wfla.com [3][15][5][2] Despite claims that he was the most feared pirate in the Gulf of Mexico for several decades, searches of contemporary American newspapers have found no mention of the name "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" or of a pirate ship called Floriblanca, and searches of U.S. Navy archives have found no mention of Gaspar in ships' logs or in official court records of the hundreds of piracy trials held during the era. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. According to several studies, the Parade of Pirates alone has a local economic impact of over $20 million, and the combined events bring in over $40 million. [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. Gasparilla parade will have four generations of one family this year 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. The brochure was produced and widely distributed by the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway, which built the resort at the end of its rail line. [3][45][42], In 1923, author Francis Bradlee obtained a copy of the Gasparilla Inn brochure and, assuming it was factual, included Gaspar in a book he was writing about piracy in the West Indies. Culbreath Jr. & Queen Deborah King Davis, King Max H. Hollingsworth & Queen Patricia Shannon Smith, King Gus J. Perdigon D.D.S. But city leaders have made a lot of changes over the past decade to keep drinking under control. The history of Gasparilla and legacy of Jose Gaspar | wtsp.com Gasparilla faced controversy in the early 1990s for being a mostly white, male event. Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla was the first group to participate in the parade, but now there are dozens of other krewes joining in on the festivities. [18] In 1913, "Gasparilla Carnival" was organized as an independent event, as it has remained ever since. [22] His self-reported age and birthplace varied, even on official documents. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and debauchery. Gaspar, Jos, -- 1756-1821. Though there is no evidence he actually existed, Gaspar was adopted patron rogue of this new Tampa celebration. 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. 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. Subject. The disappearance of a Tampa Bay blue blood rattles the skeletons in his family's closet. King Edward R. Gunby & Queen Mary Lee Douglas, King W. Penn Dawson & Queen Lillian Stevens, King E.M. Hendry & Queen Kathleen Phillips, King J.G. Research in Spanish archives has turned up no mention of his early life, his presence in the Spanish royal court, or his career in the Spanish navy. Most stories agree he was an aristocratic Spanish Navy Officer who later. Now in its 53rd year, the festival is popular with . [24] In 1885, he told state census takers that he had been born in Corsica,[25] and reported to the 1900 US Census that he was born in Portugal in 1776. Jos Gaspar - Wikipedia On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. Part of the weekend programming includes the Emerging Artists Program, which provides . PublishedJanuary 22, 2019 at 5:19 PM EST. It was freely distributed to guests at the Inn and in northern markets to draw attention to the recently opened tourist destination. [10] Gaspar has also been associated with Henri Caesar and "Old King John", other semi-legendary pirates for whom there is little to no historical evidence. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the grandaddy organization that started Tampa's signature parade in 1904, will have the rare occurrence of four generations of one family, ages 10 to 95,. The latest news and how to stay informed. "[44] Among its many inaccuracies, the brochure stated that pirate's nickname "Gasparilla" means "Gaspar the outlaw" in Spanish when it is actually a form meaning "little Gaspar", that Gasparilla Island was named for the pirate when the name actually appears on Spanish and English maps from well before his supposed arrival, and that the "bleached bones" of Gaspar's victims along with many old coins had been discovered in local "Indian mounds" when no such find has ever been documented.
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