king of gasparilla

[3][18][7][5], Inspired by the story of Gaspar, the city of Tampa organized a pirate-themed May Day festival in 1904. [37][38] Other local organizations have taken on the Gasparilla / pirate theme, most prominently the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who first took the field in 1976 and installed a replica pirate ship in the stands of their home field at Raymond James Stadium. Can SunRail help ease traffic in Polk County? As described by the Boca Grande Historical Society, several Calusa and other Native American sites around Charlotte Harbor have suffered "unimaginable damage" at the hands of "looters in search of a non-pirate's non-treasure. Now in its 53rd year, the festival is popular with . The parade has always been held along Tampa's waterfront near downtown Tampa, and since 2011, it has ended along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the nighttime hours.[4][1]. Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O'Malley formed in 1992 and was first all-female group. Barkley & Queen Stella Taliaferro, King W. Reynolds Beckwith & Queen Mary Cotter Lucas, King Tod Ford Gillett & Queen Daisy Giddens, King E.P. [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. 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. And as a result of some of those things, the police presence and the fact that weve restricted the amount of mixed drinks that you can just bring along the parade route, weve seen arrests go down to less than a dozen, he said. "Gasparilla pirate's life flows from history's spin doctors", "The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast", "Chamber Enlivened by Whiskey Creek, Pirate History", "Not the Type of Person to Meet on a Dark Night was Gasparilla", 1999 Gasparilla Pirate Fest - The Tampa Tribune, "Gasparilla Island Geology, Archaeology, and History", "Is Gasparilla's treasure real? [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. The Gasparilla Innin 1913]. Title. [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. Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla will celebrate their conquest of Tampa with a festive celebration that will include live music and merriment, as Tampa's favorite pirates make ready to leave the city from Sparkman Wharf! [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. In the 1870 United States Census, he is listed as having been born in 1828. "I used to watch it from the rooftops,". [1] It also sought to connect Gaspar to Charlotte Harbor by claiming that his sprawling home base had encompassed several islands in the area. On Gasparilla Day, members of YMKG don pirate regalia and sail across Tampa Bay aboard the Jose Gasparilla II, a 165-foot-long (50m) "pirate ship" which is actually a steel barge converted to look like a large West Indiaman. [3][1], Though the brochure presents its "romantic" history of Gaspar as well-established truth, it is entirely fictional. [7][3], Other versions of the story state that Gaspar was a nobleman who achieved a high rank in the Spanish Royal Navy and became a councilor to King Charles III of Spain. [3][27] Most versions of the legend also claim that Gmez knew the whereabouts of Gaspar's vast treasure cache, which seems unlikely given that he petitioned the Lee County Commission for a $8 per month stipend due to destitution. Taliaferro, III & Queen Doris Knight, King Wallace O. Stovall & Queen Grace Freeman, King Otto Lee Henderson & Queen Mary Trice Clewis, King L. Walthugh Lee & Queen Mildred Taliaferro, King Joe Johnson & Queen Lillie Wall Honaker, King Collins Gillet & Queen Marion Harvey, King James W. Warren & Queen Sara Lykes Keller, King Curtis L. Sparkman & Queen Elizabeth Nelson, King J. MacDonell Thompson & Queen Carlotta Cuesta, King L.G. King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske 2022. 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. A look back at the costumes, floats and festivities over the years. Once they had the idea for Gasparilla, Louise Frances Dodge and George Hardee invited members of Tampas high society to form a secret group called Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. [18] In 1913, "Gasparilla Carnival" was organized as an independent event, as it has remained ever since. 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. This error led to Gaspar being mentioned in a few other non-fiction books about piracy and Florida history, causing ongoing confusion as to the authenticity of the legend. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [11], The old wooden ship was in serious need of repairs and renovation by the early 1950s, so with financial assistance from the city of Tampa, YMKG commissioned the $100,000 Jose Gasparilla II, which was constructed from a 165-foot-long (50m) steel barge to which masts and other elements were added so that it resembles an 18th-century West Indiaman. 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. Events kick-off at 9 am and continue through 10 pm. [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. Stories about Gaspar say he terrorized Floridas west coast during the 18th and 19th century. He tells us about the origins of Gasparilla, which Tampa first hosted in 1904. Despite the fact that the Annual Gasparilla Festival started in 1904 to celebrate "Pirate . Pirates with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla fill up the 168-ft. Jose Gasparilla II for the annual invasion. [7], Several historians and other interested parties have attempted to find documentation of Gaspar's existence without success. [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. His family has been a part of the fun for decades. Most male prisoners would be forced to join his crew or be put to death, while women would be taken to a nearby isle (called Captiva Island for this reason) to be held for ransom or serve as wives or concubines for the pirates. "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. [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. [29] Assuming that the story of Gasparilla as described was authentic, Bradlee included many details in his book Piracy In The West Indies And Its Suppression without attempting to verify the information. Gasparilla Pirate Fest officially consists of three primary events: In 2004, YMKG published a new centennial history of the organization. [56] The Krewe of Venus (a women's organization formed by relatives of YMKG members) was allowed to join the parade in 1966, and the Krewe of Sant'Yago (formed by leading members of Tampa's Latin community) began holding their own Gaspar-themed parade in Ybor City in 1972, with both krewes collaborating somewhat with YMKG. [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). One of the most famous involves a Spanish princess (or Mexican, depending on the version) named Useppa who was a passenger on a captured ship. [6], In some versions of the story, Gaspar began life as a poverty-stricken Spanish youth who kidnapped a young girl for ransom. From March 4-5, event-goers can come out to Julian B. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. According to family stories, the wooden box contained a pile of Spanish and Portuguese coins, a severed hand wearing a ring engraved with the name "Gaspar", and a "treasure map" indicating that Gaspar's treasure was hidden near the Hillsborough River in Tampa. 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). [17][18], Parade participants on floats and on foot have traditionally tossed souvenirs as they make their way along the route, but the specific items have changed over time. 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. therefore, in theory, it was the old haunt of the king of the pirates. 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. [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 origin of the hand remained a mystery, though the curator of the history center opined that it might be a mummified monkey hand. [3] The brochure also claimed that the bulk of Gaspar's vast treasure cache "still lies unmoved" somewhere in the vicinity of Boca Grande. The parade was even cancelled in 1991 over disputes about diversity. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? [3], Similarly, Sanibel Island is said to have been named by Gaspar's first mate, Rodrigo Lopez, after his lover whom he had left back in Spain. [46] The pirate festival took a brief hiatus from 1906 until 1910, when it was revived as part of a community celebration marking the opening of the Panama Canal. This krewe of pirates performed the first invasion in 1904, riding into Tampas May Day parade on horseback and throwing a big gala that evening. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) For Richard Chapman, Gasparilla is a story about family. Pirates have fired off canons on the Jose Gasparilla II as the ship "invades" Tampa Bay since it was built in 1954.