[15][36], Tampa now hosts many community events during its "Gasparilla Season", which runs approximately from January to March. [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. This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 20:52. Boca Grande [was then] the principal town of Gasparilla Island, and . Jos Gaspar - Wikipedia Beauty contestants in a 1959 Gasparilla parade. The history of Gasparilla and legacy of Jose Gaspar | wtsp.com Krewe of Venus was formed in 1966 and was the first krewe to allow women to join. 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. 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. Kings & Queens - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla Gasparilla invasion and parade returns to Tampa - Tampa Bay Times [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. More than a century. King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske 2022. Participation - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla [37] The mayor of Tampa then surrenders the key of the city to the "pirate captain", and a "victory parade" ensues down Bayshore Boulevard. In Tampa, rare Gasparilla beads are the real treasure In the late 1800s, Gmez lived in a shack with his wife on otherwise uninhabited Panther Key, a small spit of land near Marco Island in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Southwest Florida. 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]. It centers on a fictional pirate, Jose Gaspar, and a prominent bunch of Tampa citizens who. Tampas first krewe, the Ye Mystic Krewe is one of more than 100 organizations taking part in the festivities. Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns to Tampa. Here's what to know [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. 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". 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. Taking inspiration from Mardi Gras krewes, there was a hierarchy in place with a king and queen of Gasparilla crowned each year and debutante balls for young women. 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. Florida Matters wants to include you in our conversations on topics important to the greater Tampa Bay region. 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. And on that legend, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla was founded 100 years ago. A few days before the Parade of Pirates, members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla in full pirate regalia "kidnap" the mayor of Tampa at city hall, take them to a downtown park before assembled local media and onlookers, and demand that the city surrender to Jose Gaspar or suffer the consequences. However, while pirates on foot are no longer allowed to use firearms during the parade, trained members of YMKG still fire loud mini-canons from several specialized floats and during the cross-bay voyage of the Jose Gasparilla II.[22]. [ IVY. Jos Gaspar's legend is celebrated in Tampa, Florida during the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival, which was first held in 1904. The Legend of the Pirate Gasparilla - the REAL Facts Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, partying at Gasparilla can get pretty rowdy. [7], Several historians and other interested parties have attempted to find documentation of Gaspar's existence without success. He talks about what goes into putting on the massive event and how it has expanded over the years. [8] Around noon on the Gasparilla Day, members of YMKG set sail across Tampa Bay from near Ballast Point Park to downtown aboard the Jose Gasparilla, a 165' long flat-bottomed steel barge which was specially built and decorated for this purpose in 1954. Williams Jr. & Queen Mary Harman Dunn, King Norman Stallings & Queen Lita J. Cannon, King A. Clewis Howell & Queen Rosemary L. Sparkman, King Jerry E. Fogarty & Queen Belva Marie Toland, King Chester H. Ferguson & Queen Billie Elizabeth Dunn, King William A. Gillen & Queen Mary Nell Ward, King Richard F. Pittman Jr. & Queen Brenda A. Williams, King Currie B. Witt & Queen Lesley Quinby Williams, King J. Rex Farrior Jr. & Queen Wynette B. Howell, King H.L. [23][3][7] While none of these stories can be verified, researchers have found record indicating that Gmez lived in several locations around southwest Florida from about 1870 until his death, including the Florida Everglades, Key West, Tampa, Pass-a-Grille, and the Ten Thousand Islands. "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. Some versions of the story claim that one of the escapees was John Gmez, who would tell the tale to subsequent generations. [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. King Daniel: Gasparilla King of the Pirates by Susan Wolf Johnson [22][27][23] Most of his supposed birth years would have made him one of the oldest people in the world in 1900, when he died in a boating accident. Krewes are centered around various ethnic, cultural, and historical themes or favorite charity causes, and much like the krewes of Mardi Gras, members often spend a great deal of money on elaborate costumes, beads, and floats. 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. Empathizing with his friend's plight, Gaspar eventually allowed Lopez to return home. While some feel that the widespread use of the name constitutes a "co-branding" which promotes all similarly named organizations and Tampa in general, others believe that overuse could "water down what it means", and that the potential failures or missteps of one event or organization might reflect poorly on all the others. So they wanted to have this thing that could maybe draw people from outside the city to come into Tampa for a couple days and have a party.. PDF The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast Lane Riverfront Park along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. Subject. Stories about Gaspar say he terrorized Floridas west coast during the 18th and 19th century. The two most common throws before that were plastic or metal commemorative coins produced annually by various krewes and spent gun cartridges. How to Participate in Gasparilla; Pirate Login; Open Mobile Menu. "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? Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - Inspired by the Legend of Pirate Jose ", "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? 'Jack' Smith & Queen Gay Dantzler, King Frank M. Frankland & Queen Lynda Helms, King Charles P. Lykes & Queen Joan Henderson, King C.C. He was popular in the court, but when he spurned one lover for another, the jilted lady levied false charges against him, often said to involve the theft of the crown jewels. "Pirate State (of mind); When bad boys make for good fun: Pirates have shed their villainous image in Florida". Gasparilla parade will have four generations of one family this year It all started in the newsroom of the now-defunct Tampa Morning Tribune, where Society Page Editor Louise Francis Dodge sought to . The mayor playfully refuses, and the pirates declare that Gaspar will arrive with an "invasion force" on the following Saturday to steal the key to the city.
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