king of gasparillaking of gasparilla

[7][3][9], Different versions of Gaspar's legend relate different episodes in his piratical career. 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. Since 2005, it has been held on the last Saturday in January. Jos Gaspar's legend is celebrated in Tampa, Florida during the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival, which was first held in 1904. 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 focal point is still an "invasion" by Jos Gaspar and his crew, which takes place on the last Saturday in January. Because Tampas business community was still relatively small back then, you can look at people who were members of Ye Mystic Krewe and also see they were the heads of different banks in the area, they were the head of TECO, the heads of these big businesses.. Now in its 53rd year, the festival is popular with . In the first portion of the show we speak with Rodney Kite-Powell, the Saunders Foundation Curator of History at the Tampa Bay History Center. [37] The mayor of Tampa then surrenders the key of the city to the "pirate captain", and a "victory parade" ensues down Bayshore Boulevard. Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult. Why is diversity the hot issue in Florida higher education? The Children's Parade was first held in 1947 and has grown over the years, usually drawing about 100,000 attendees. [3] The brochure also claimed that the bulk of Gaspar's vast treasure cache "still lies unmoved" somewhere in the vicinity of Boca Grande. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. [7][22] However, though many versions of the Gasparilla legend claim that Gmez was the last surviving member of the pirate's crew, no contemporary account of Gmez's life or tall tales mention Jos Gaspar. [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. Some versions identify the lady with Josefa de Mayorga, daughter of Martn de Mayorga, viceroy of New Spain from 1779 to 1782, and contend that the island's name evolved over time. Some guys will be walking with their grandfathers in this parade and certainly their fathers, Chapman said. 'Milo' Vega & Queen Shirley Morgan, King Ed K. Nelson Jr. & Queen Mary Louise Lee, King James L. Ferman & Queen Pamela Logan, King Blackburn W. Lowry & Queen Betsy Allison, King Fred S. Johnston & Queen Stella Louise Ferguson, King H. Grady Lester Jr. & Queen Lavinia Lee Witt, King Richard S. McKay & Queen Bonnie Grace Hall, King J.H. 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. [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. He was well known along Florida's Gulf coast as an expert hunting and fishing guide, boat pilot, and an eccentric teller of tall tales, mostly about himself. Boca Grande [was then] the principal town of Gasparilla Island, and . Some versions of Gaspar's story claim that he often partnered with the real pirate Pierre Lafitte and that Lafitte barely escaped the battle in which Gaspar was killed. [22] His self-reported age and birthplace varied, even on official documents. 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. "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. [18], As the scheduling of the Parade of Pirates has shifted over the years, the dates of the other two large parades of the season have generally shifted as well, with the Children's Parade held one week before and the Krewe of San'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade held two weeks after the main Gasparilla Parade. It returned in 1956 as the Gasparilla Invitational Tournament, an amateur competition which has been held annually ever since. [52] Later in 1991, the Krewe of Gasparilla agreed to accept black members and allow more krewes to participate in the parade, and Gasparilla returned for 1992. Can SunRail help ease traffic in Polk County? It is held in the historical neighborhood of Ybor City on a Saturday night, usually two weeks after the Parade of Pirates in mid-February. 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. Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday. The following year was the first invasion by boat. [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". 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. Empathizing with his friend's plight, Gaspar eventually allowed Lopez to return home. Stories about Gaspar say he terrorized Floridas west coast during the 18th and 19th century. [1], While Gaspar is a popular figure in Florida folklore, there is no evidence that he actually existed. More than a century. Check out our listof street closures, parking info, etc. The Gasparilla holiday was created more than 100 years ago as a way to lure people to visit Tampa. "[3], Despite this colorful history, there is no evidence that a pirate named "Gaspar" or "Gasparilla" ever roamed the Florida coast. On Saturday, several hundred thousand people will line Bayshore Boulevard and the streets of downtown Tampa for the invasion and parade. Though it once had the reputation of being the most "adult-oriented" parade of Tampa's Gasparilla season, the city has tried to reduce public drunkenness and other unruly behavior in recent years and has promoted the parade as a family-friendly event, with some success. [14] While scattered seaborne attacks by privateers and others were still an occasional issue when Gaspar supposedly arrived at Charlotte Harbor in the 1780s, the navies of Britain, France, Spain, and the newly independent United States were actively patrolling nearby waters, making it improbable that a pirate could successfully harass shipping for decades at the enormous scale claimed in the various stories about Gasparilla. Lane Riverfront Park in downtown Tampa, the festival attracts over 30,000 visitors. [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. Don Barnes, Executive Officer of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla said a lot has changed since then. The disappearance of a Tampa Bay blue blood rattles the skeletons in his family's closet. [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. 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. )[13], During the treasure distribution process, a lookout spotted what appeared to be a vulnerable British merchant ship sailing nearby. Letsgetstarted. [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. Several semi-theatrical events around Gaspar's "pirate invasion" have become traditional: The Children's Gasparilla Extravaganza is held on the Saturday prior to the main parade, currently the second-to-last Saturday in January. 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. After a hiatus during World War I, the Gasparilla parade was held in mid-February. The landfall of the Jose Gasparilla Pirate Ship and the Children's Gasparilla Parade & Piratechnics display have become tourism icons. Most modern-day Gasparilla attendees picture the large Jose Gasparilla II pirate ship that sails into Tampa Bay each year for the invasion, but that was not built until 1954. ", "You could have a vacation here but there was really no reason to. 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. There is actually one example of when a ship wasnt totally empty of its cargo and that cargo was livestock pigs and chickens. 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. Once the invasion begins, the boats need to arrive at the convention center within 90 minutes so the pirates can confront the mayor precisely at 1 p.m. Hell hopefully hand over the key to the city so the parade can start and everything can wrap up by early evening. [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. How to Participate in Gasparilla; Pirate Login; Open Mobile Menu. In 1936, YMKG commissioned Tampa Tribune editor Edwin D. Lambright to write an authorized history of the organization. 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. & 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 |. At least a portion of the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates has traversed Bayshore Boulevard into downtown almost since its inception. 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. & 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. 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. We estimate that 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 would rent between $3,776 / mo. [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. Courtesy Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System], [Burgert Brothers | Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System], [DAVID KADLUBOWSKI | Tampa Bay Times], [PENDYGRAFT, JOHN | St. Petersburg Times], [ | Tampa Bay Times], Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns to Tampa. Were not like Mardi Gras were fun, people are having a great time but its much safer and much smarter, he said. Situated along Garrison Channel in downtown Tampa, Sparkman Wharf (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602) is Tampa's new outdoor waterfront destination.

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