The pirate ship needs to be moved into place to begin the invasion at 11:30 a.m. Tugboats help move the ship, which leads a flotilla of over 1500 smaller boats. 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. However, the construction of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway through downtown in 1976 ended that tradition, as the 100-foot (30m) masts of the Jose Gasparilla II do not fit under the expressway where it bridges the river near its mouth. 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], Despite this colorful history, there is no evidence that a pirate named "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" ever roamed the Florida coast. Awosika, Mary, and Mark Zaloude. [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. 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. Attendees are welcome to drink openly along the parade route on Tampas Bayshore Boulevard and surrounding bars and restaurants are packed with people drinking from morning to night. It all started in the newsroom of the now-defunct Tampa Morning Tribune, where Society Page Editor Louise Francis Dodge sought to . Howd you do it? [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. "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. before plunging into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within sight of the shore. & Queen Shannon Holt Gillen, King A. Gerald Divers & Queen Marica Cone McKeel, King Richard A. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and debauchery. [1][15] Besides planning Gasparilla and its own private events, YMKG raises money for various charitable causes and annually endows several college scholarships through its community fund. "[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". . [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. Pirates with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla fill up the 168-ft. Jose Gasparilla II for the annual invasion. Alcohol has long played a role in Gasparilla, as it has with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. [18] Since 2011, the parade route has ended at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the evening. [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. "That's my uncle and my mother going to Coronation back in 1950," said. [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. [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. [7][3][9], Different versions of Gaspar's legend relate different episodes in his piratical career. Barkley & Queen Stella Taliaferro, King W. Reynolds Beckwith & Queen Mary Cotter Lucas, King Tod Ford Gillett & Queen Daisy Giddens, King E.P. [3], Gaspar has been associated with various other pirates, both historical and not. The event was a hit, and the following year, the Krewe organized a parade in which all 60 of Tampa's cars rode through downtown. 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. There is actually one example of when a ship wasnt totally empty of its cargo and that cargo was livestock pigs and chickens. Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602) is Tampa's new outdoor waterfront destination. [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. [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. To learn more, read this article. [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. Boca Grande [was then] the principal town of Gasparilla Island, and . Tampa's most prized tradition was sparked 118 years ago and continues to be shrouded in some mystery. [1] (For comparison, Spain had just agreed to transfer all of Florida to the United States for $5 million. & Queen Jane Wallace, King Lee M. Bentley & Queen Dada Pittman Glaser, King G. Pierce Wood Jr. & Queen Patricia C. Williams, King W. DeHart Ayala & Queen Sandra Louise Fogarty, King Michel G. Emmanuel & Queen Caroline E. Murphey, King James W. O'Neal & Queen Helen Parkhill Murphey, King John Germany & Queen Suzanne Galloway Adams, King John H. Boushall Jr. & Queen Jane Gray Hanlon, King Fred R. Martin III & Queen Camille Amanda McWhirter, King James L. Ferman & Queen Mary Winifred Wilson, King Russell S. Bogue Jr. & Queen Darby Crowder, King L.G. [ IVY. He said it took a few years for the festival to become a consistently annual event, but that organizers quickly realized it could be an asset to the city. [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. We estimate that 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 would rent between $3,776 / mo. The latest news and how to stay informed. Community Outreach. Look closely and you can spot pirates on the Jose Gasparilla II in 1959 enjoying some adult beverages as they invade the city. [1] Most of his surviving crew were captured and hanged, but a few escaped or were imprisoned. [27][22][23] His tall tales were usually shared in very informal settings during fishing trips and hunting expeditions and are only documented in a few personal accounts in newspapers and magazines and in his obituary. 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,. It returned in 1956 as the Gasparilla Invitational Tournament, an amateur competition which has been held annually ever since. Gasparilla spans generations for their families and for others. 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. [30] However, none of these claims were true, as no treasure, murder victims, or other physical trace of Gaspar's exploits has ever been found in the area, and John Gmez drowned while fishing alone, making a deathbed confession impossible. The period in which he was supposedly active was well after the "Golden Age of Piracy" (c. 1650 - 1725), when real historical figures such as Bartholomew Roberts, Blackbeard, and William Kidd operated in and around the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic basin. The book also included advertisements for hotels and real estate firms in the Fort Myers and Charlotte Harbor area and invited readers to Make [their] conquest of Sanibel and Captiva Islands . Unjustly facing arrest, he commandeered a ship and fled, vowing to exact revenge on his country. This week on Florida Matters, we take a deep dive into the past and present of Gasparilla. Check out our listof street closures, parking info, etc. Rainy weather helped to dampen the crowds, and the replacement was considered a "flop". The event proved popular, and leading citizens organized "Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla", an organization based on the krewes of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, to run the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival. The Gasparilla Innin 1913]. 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. Letsgetstarted. When efforts were made by local leaders and activists to integrate in 1991, the Krewe of Gasparilla canceled that years parade but allowed it in 1992. An average of over 300,000 people attend the event, which contributes over $20 million to the local economy.[38]. The parade was even cancelled in 1991 over disputes about diversity. [37] The mayor of Tampa then surrenders the key of the city to the "pirate captain", and a "victory parade" ensues down Bayshore Boulevard. Robin Sussingham was Senior Editor at WUSF until September 2020. Some guys will be walking with their grandfathers in this parade and certainly their fathers, Chapman said. Barnes isnt one of the lucky men who gets to dress up in pirate costume and ride on the Jose Gasparilla II. The annual Gasparilla celebration is a tradition that goes way back, and this year Daniel is crowned Gasparilla King, which is a big deal. The 94-year-old was King of Gasparilla during the Truman Administration when the parade route weaved through downtown Tampa and not down Bayshore. Over time, the formerly one-day event evolved into a "Gasparilla season" which runs approximately from the beginning of the year until mid-March. [12] Whether or not the mayor actually "surrenders", the pirates stage a "victory parade" along Bayshore Boulevard. It centers on a fictional pirate, Jose Gaspar, and a prominent bunch of Tampa citizens who. [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. [18] Outside of Gasparilla season, the Jose Gasparilla II can usually be found moored near the northern end of Bayshore Boulevard within sight of downtown. Plastic beads like those at New Orleans Mardi Gras festivities are by far the most prevalent item, with varieties ranging from simple single-color necklaces to intricate and expensive designs, most of which are purchased by krewe members themselves. If you're looking for something to do that combines culture and the outdoors, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is the hot ticket this weekend. A fierce battle ensued in which the Floriblanca was hulled several times below the waterline and began to sink. 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. U.S. Census, Monroe Co., Florida, Supervisor's district 18, enumerator's district 118, page 8, 6 July 1880, Florida State Census, Monroe county, enumerator's district 7, page 11, 22 June 1885, U.S. Census, Precinct 7, Lee Co., Florida, 27 June 1900, supervisor's district 2, enumerator district 163, sheet 2. )[13], During the treasure distribution process, a lookout spotted what appeared to be a vulnerable British merchant ship sailing nearby. Pirates have fired off canons on the Jose Gasparilla II as the ship "invades" Tampa Bay since it was built in 1954. This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 20:52. Gasparilla Pirate Fest is on January 28, 2023 with the Parade of Pirates stepping off at 1pm.