[3][7][5][18], In 1949, a retired Pat Lemoyne gave a history lecture at a Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce function in which he cheerfully admitted that his biography of Jos Gaspar was a "cockeyed lie without a true fact in it" and that he had written the brochure in a dramatic style that "tourists like to hear". [9][54] Borrowed ships were used until the 1930s, when Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla bought an old merchant sloop and repurposed it as the Jose Gasparilla, which they use for about twenty years. [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. Ketia Daniel, founder of BHM Cleaning Co., is BestReviews cleaning expert. [16], The Krewe of Gasparilla was Tampa's only Gasparilla krewe until the woman-only Krewe of Venus was organized in 1966, the Ybor City-based Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago was organized in 1972, the Tampa Rough Riders were organized in 1978, and many more were established after YMKG opened up participation in the parade to more krewes in the 1990s. 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. We went with these friends to find it", "Looters Preying on Florida's Ancient Sites", "Archaeology - Division of Historical Resources - Florida Department of State", "The Legend of the Pirate Gasparilla the REAL Facts", "Demystifying the lives of Panther Key John Gomez: From Pirate to Pilot", "Tampa family finds a good pirate story in the attic", "Box found in Tampa attic has coins, a map, a hand and a mystery", "Tampa family finds pirate treasure in grandpa's attic", "Florida family finds 'pirate treasure' in attic", "Seed for Gasparilla was planted in Tribune's old newsroom", "The History of Gasparilla Pirate Fest - Tampa, Florida", "Bad Boy Mowers Signs on as New Bowl Game Title Sponsor Bowl Game Changes Name to Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl", "Treasure hunters seeking Gasparilla's gold featured on Discovery and Travel Channel", Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jos_Gaspar&oldid=1136505197, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Since no one organization controls the names "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla", they are used by many businesses, organizations, and events in the greater, The legend of Gasparilla has been featured in several television shows and publications over the years. [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. Stories about Gaspar say he terrorized Floridas west coast during the 18th and 19th century. See Gasparilla photos from every decade since the first invasion in 1904 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. [3] Gaspar established a base on Gasparilla Island and was soon the feared scourge of the Gulf of Mexico and the Spanish Main, taking many ships as prizes and amassing a huge treasure cache in the period coinciding with the second Spanish rule of Florida. The truth is that there never was a pirate named "Gasparilla.". Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. "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. Hundreds of thousands will crowd the streets to participate in another day of bead-throwing and. In Tampa, rare Gasparilla beads are the real treasure Chapman has taken part in the festivities since he was young. 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). 'Ted' DeLaVergne Jr. & Queen Anne McGowin Robbins, King David R. Murphey III & Queen Lavinia Hannon Touchton, King James W. Warren III & Queen Laura Elizabeth Ferman, King Bruce A. Samson & Queen Janice Coxwell Ferman, King Warren Frazier & Queen Evans Barritt Romano, King Henry G. Ennis Jr. & Queen Nancy Kaye Frankland. [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. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Some claim that Gmez was the pirate's cabin boy, others that he was Gaspar's brother-in-law and first mate, still others that Gmez was Gaspar's first mate while his son was a cabin boy, and some even suggest that Gmez was the extraordinarily long-lived Jos Gaspar himself living under a false name. World War II froze Gasparilla from 1941-47, diverting funds to buy war bonds, and leaving 33rd king and queen, James T. Swann Jr. and Queen Ruth Binnicker, on the throne, the only royals to marry . PDF The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast In the festivals early years the invasion was done on horseback. [7], The Gasparilla Pirate Festival has been popular in Tampa since its inception and has grown into the third largest parade in the United States. [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. The Legend of the Pirate Gasparilla - the REAL Facts [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. [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. 4 generations of pirates take part in this year's Gasparilla parade Alcohol has long played a role in Gasparilla, as it has with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Over 300,000 spectators are expected to line the streets to watch the Ashley Children's Gasparilla Parade presented by Chick-fil-A on January 21, 2023 and the Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest on January 28, 2023. 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. 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. Recent examples include September 2019 episodes of the TV series, This page was last edited on 30 January 2023, at 17:26. 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. [9][17] However, no trace of this "pirate kingdom" has ever been uncovered despite the fact that the island became a key shipping point for Florida's phosphate industry in the early 20th century and the resort town of Boca Grande now encompasses most of its land area. "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. [18][7][3][16], And while rumors of mysterious maps and gold coins have prompted professional and amateur treasure hunters to conduct many searches for Gaspar's lost cache over the years, there has been no documented recovery of any part of his plunder or the remains of his many alleged victims. 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 . Looking at old photos from past festivals, you can see pirates with drinks in their hands, and the Jose Gasparilla II used in modern invasions is essentially a floating bar. On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. [3], In the 1930s, construction worker Ernesto Lopez showed his family a mysterious box he claimed to have found while working with a repair crew on the Cass Street Bridge in downtown Tampa. However, the diary was said to have been lost, and no other evidence was disclosed.[7][5]. At least a portion of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates has traversed Bayshore Boulevard into downtown almost since its inception. Check out our listof street closures, parking info, etc. 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,. King Daniel: Gasparilla King of the Pirates by Susan Wolf Johnson [48] Gasparilla became an official holiday in Tampa during this time, with local schools and government offices closed for the day. However, though many versions of Jos Gaspar's adventures have been told in various forms over the years - including pulp adventure novels, tourist guides, and official histories of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla - all have their basis in the fictional tale first printed in an advertisement for the Gasparilla Inn. 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. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. Over the next decade, the pirate parade was staged as an occasional add-on to other community events, with the highlight of the early period being the first seaborne invasion in 1911. One of the first was the Gasparilla Open, a PGA Tour stop which was sponsored by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG) from 1932 to 1935. [1] Most of his surviving crew were captured and hanged, but a few escaped or were imprisoned. Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? before plunging into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within sight of the shore. Despite the fact that hes pretty much working the entire day, Barnes said Gasparilla is still fun for him. For several decades, the parade route ended at Plant Field, where the Florida State Fair was taking place, drawing more attendees to the simultaneous events. 'Jack' Smith & Queen Gay Dantzler, King Frank M. Frankland & Queen Lynda Helms, King Charles P. Lykes & Queen Joan Henderson, King C.C. In Johnson's first novel, it's the summer of 1972, and Daniel Westcott, 68, has been named king of the pirates, to be crowned at the annual Gasparilla Queen's Party. Howd you do it? When Daniel Westcott, the newly chosen Gasparilla King of Tampa Bay, Florida, goes missing in 1972, the remaining Westcotts are thrown into chaos. 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. However, when the pirates fired a warning shot, their intended victim raised an American flag to reveal that it was no merchant vessel, but the United States Navy pirate hunting schooner USS Enterprise in disguise. 'Ted' DeLaVergne & Queen Emala Parkhill, King Lemuel P. Woods & Queen Elizabeth Dawson, King Gordon L. Gibbons & Queen Lucile Trice, King James E. Wall Jr. & Queen Phyllis Turner, King W. Frank Hobbs & Queen Sylvia Corral, King G. Richard Griffin & Queen Louise Lykes, King Henry Weidman & Queen Sara B. Johnson, King David A. Falk & Queen Mary Frances Swann, King LeBron Kinchley & Queen Peggy Van Dyke, King James T. Swann Jr. & Queen Ruth Binnicker, King H. Phillip Hampton & Queen Mary Ellen Cook, King William C. McElmurray & Queen Lucy Ann Forgy, King W. Howard Frankland & Queen Mary Julia Dupree, King Charles G. Baskerville & Queen Shirley McKay, King Gilvie L. Reeves & Queen Patricia Lowry, King Carlton C. Cone & Queen Suzanne Lowry, King John A. 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. 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] The first occurrence consisted of several dozen local businessmen disguising themselves as pirates, riding horses through town to simulate a surprise pirate invasion, and encouraging startled observers to follow them to the May Day festival. Part of the weekend programming includes the Emerging Artists Program, which provides . 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. The focal point is still an "invasion" by Jos Gaspar and his crew, which takes place on the last Saturday in January. 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.