Sometimes the ships they found werent in great shape, so they would run aground, he said. In order to accommodate the parades, many streets will be closed. Unjustly facing arrest, he commandeered a ship and fled, vowing to exact revenge on his country. Gaspar, Jos, -- 1756-1821. 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. [39][40] To tie these events together in the public eye, Visit Tampa Bay, the local tourist bureau, has run multimillion-dollar promotional campaigns across the United States, Canada, and Europe to attract visitors to the area during "Gasparilla Season". 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. [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. The whole town closes up for the day and all the citizens get together, they crown a King and Queen, and then the band plays at the Tampa Yacht Club despite the blazing heat. He claimed to have seen Napoleon as a youth in France (or, alternatively, was drafted into Napoleon's army), sailed the world as a cabin boy on a merchant ship, served as a scout for the U.S. Army during the Seminole Wars, served as a coastal pilot for the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, was involved in filibustering (and perhaps pirating) in Central America and the Caribbean, and escaped a Cuban prison just before his scheduled execution, among other remarkable exploits spread out over the entirety of the 19th century. Gaspar could not resist taking one last prize, so he led his crew aboard the Floriblanca to pursue their prey. [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. "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," declared the leaflet. Chapman has taken part in the festivities since he was young. [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). 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. Gaspar and his crew then stage a "victory parade" featuring 50 additional krewes, over 100 floats, and dozens of other community organizations along a route traveling 4.5 miles (7.2km) down Bayshore Boulevard, throwing beads and other trinkets to a crowd of about 300,000. [7] While several purported biographies of the pirate state that the nickname "Gasparilla" means "Gaspar, the outlaw" in Spanish, it is actually a feminine diminutive meaning "little Gaspar" or "gentle Gaspar", a moniker more likely to be attached to a pacifist priest than a bloodthirsty buccaneer. [3][2], There is also no physical evidence to support Gaspar's existence. Thats my uncle and my mother going to Coronation back in 1950, said Chapman as he held up a photo taken during the Krewes Coronation Ball many decades ago. For men, getting the chance to don a pirate costume and join the invasion could be a very valuable opportunity. 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. . [17], In 1949, Fort Myers author Jack Beater published a mass-market paperback version of the Gaspar legend called The Gasparilla Story. [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. [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. [28][23][3][15][22], The first known written account of Jos Gaspar comes from an early 1900s brochure for the Gasparilla Inn Resort in the recently established tourist town of Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. [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. [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. Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. 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. Lane Riverfront Park along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. [46] The second Gasparilla the following year was not a surprise, as every automobile owner in town was invited to join the mounted pirates in the parade. From March 4-5, event-goers can come out to Julian B. 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. 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. Gasparilla began as a surprise "pirate invasion" on horseback during the city's May Day festival in 1904. 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. [57][3], The issue grew into a heated controversy in 1990, when the city planned to stage the Parade of Pirates a week earlier than usual to coincide with Super Bowl XXV, which was to be played at Tampa Stadium in January 1991. The connection was first made soon after his death in 1900, when a promotional pamphlet for a Charlotte Harbor resort hotel (see below) claimed that the late John Gmez was the primary source of its tale of the pirate Gasparilla. The fantastical biography was penned by publicist Pat Lemoyne, who combined and embellished tall tales attributed to well-known and recently deceased local fishing guide "Panther John" Gomez to create the legend of the pirate Gaspar, which Lemoyne freely admitted was "without a true fact in it. [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. 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. [11], The membership of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla is overwhelmingly made up of Tampa's business and civic leaders, which meant that for many decades, the organization was exclusively white and male, leading to some resentment from unrepresented groups. Kite-Powell said it wasnt always easy to pull off such an invasion by sea. Updated: Mar 1, 2023 / 06:30 PM EST. In 2004, YMKG published a new centennial history of the organization. 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. Don't worry, there aren't actually any canon balls inside. [12] Gaspar had decided to retire after almost four decades of pirating, and he and his crew gathered on Gasparilla Island to split the wealth he'd gathered throughout his career, which some versions of the story value at the enormous sum of $30 million. Since then organizers have worked to diversify the festival and include more krewes for all races and genders. "[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". & Queen Anne Lawson Kelley, King William L. (Larry) Smith & Queen India Powell Stallings, King J. Rex Farrior, III & Queen Laura Elizabeth Straske, King Gary W. Harrod & Queen Margo Hall Ennis, King Christopher C. Lykes & Queen Courtney Laurens Farrior, King CVII James A. Turner III & Queen CVII Martha Davis Straske, King CVIII Richard McKinley Chapman III & Queen CVIII Caroline Grace Dearing Lackman, Copyright @ 2023 Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - All Rights Reserved |. 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. 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. Nashville to Tampa: Hey, nice Riverwalk you got there. The 94-year-old was King of Gasparilla during the Truman Administration when the parade route weaved through downtown Tampa and not down Bayshore. The truth is that there never was a pirate named "Gasparilla.". The photo below shows a prominent businessman in Tampa in the typical dress of a knight riding a horse, very much as Rex Lieutenants do to this day, as they precede the king's float on Mardi Gras day. 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. Barnes isnt one of the lucky men who gets to dress up in pirate costume and ride on the Jose Gasparilla II. The noble woman rejected the pirate's advances until he threatened to behead her if she would not submit to his lust.
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