King Daniel: Gasparilla King of the Pirates - amazon.com On Saturday, pirates will once again storm downtown Tampa during the annual Gasparilla invasion. before plunging into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within sight of the shore. [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. Special Events Committee - Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla Gasparilla 2023 guide: Parking, transportation, what to wear 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. The first invasion by boat was in 1911. Research in Spanish archives has turned up no mention of his early life, his presence in the Spanish royal court, or his career in the Spanish navy. King Daniel - Gasparilla King of the Pirates | Susan Wolf Johnson 9400 Little Gasparilla Is Unit E2 is a 946 square foot property with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Kings & Queens. Barnes isnt one of the lucky men who gets to dress up in pirate costume and ride on the Jose Gasparilla II. '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. [17], "The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast", "Gasparilla parade's 100th edition marked by mostly behaved revelry", "Children's parade kicks off Tampa's Gasparilla celebration this weekend", "Annual Knight Parade lights up Ybor with family-friendly revelry", "Everything you need to know for Gasparilla 2019", "The True History and Swashbuckling Myth Behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Namesake", The History of Gasparilla Pirate Fest - Tampa, Florida, "The pirates are coming! ", "You could have a vacation here but there was really no reason to. 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 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 following year was the first invasion by boat. Captured and given the choice between prison and joining the navy, he chose to go to sea, where he served with distinction for several years before leading a mutiny against a tyrannical captain and fleeing to Florida with a stolen ship. Pirates. When his theft was discovered, he seized the "prize vessel of the Spanish fleet" with a group of loyal followers and abandoned his wife and children to flee across the Atlantic Ocean. Gasparilla history explained, legend of Jose Gaspar | wtsp.com - KTVB Gasparilla, the city's most popular annual event, centered around a pirate-themed parade, resulted from a conversation seeking to spice up an existing parade.. This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 20:52. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The first seaborne "invasion" came in 1911, and YMKG has organized a theatrical pirate invasion and parade almost every year since. [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. Louise Frances Dodge, who was society editor of the Tampa Tribune in 1904, came up with the idea for the festival with Tampas customs director George Hardee. Once they had the idea for Gasparilla, Louise Frances Dodge and George Hardee invited members of Tampas high society to form a secret group called Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. And on that legend, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla was founded 100 years ago. The legend exists, and that's what matters. [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. [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. Despite the fact that hes pretty much working the entire day, Barnes said Gasparilla is still fun for him. & Queen Mary Anne Stallings, King Richard S. Clarke & Queen Sue Ellen Germany, King James M. Ingram M.D. Activating the 25-acre Julian B. 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. Two other major parades during this time are the Gasparilla Children's Parade, which is held on Bayshore Boulevard one week before the main parade, and the Sant'Yago Illuminated Knight Parade, which is organized by the Krewe of the Knights of Sant'Yago in the historic neighborhood of Ybor City two weeks after the main parade. Pirates with Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla fill up the 168-ft. Jose Gasparilla II for the annual invasion. The parade was even cancelled in 1991 over disputes about diversity. Gasparilla parade will have four generations of one family this year [1], While Gaspar is a popular figure in Florida folklore, there is no evidence that he actually existed. Updated: Mar 1, 2023 / 06:30 PM EST. [3], Gmez's uncertain birth was said to be just the beginning of an exceedingly long and adventure-filled life. [52] However, in 2018, the city did not change the regularly scheduled date of the parade to avoid the NHL All-Star Game and related activities, which were held at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa over the same weekend. [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. [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. 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 . The tale of pirate captain Jos Gaspar who, according to the stories, ravaged the west coast of Spanish Florida for 40 years is the inspiration for a bombastic plundering that continues from 1905. Lane Riverfront Park along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. Robin Sussingham was Senior Editor at WUSF until September 2020. [8] Different versions of the story say that he was either a Spanish nobleman and advisor to King Charles III of Spain who was exiled after a romantic scandal in court, a traitorous admiral of the Spanish Royal Navy who stole a ship and fled when his treachery was revealed, or an ambitious young officer in the Spanish navy who was driven to mutiny by a tyrannically cruel captain. Rather than surrender, Gaspar supposedly wrapped an anchor chain around his waist and leapt from the bow, dramatically shouting "Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's!" What are those large pyramids next to the Skyway? A Treasured History: The Story of Gasparilla, Tampa's Most Prized 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,. Though there is no evidence he actually existed, Gaspar was adopted patron rogue of this new Tampa celebration. The Gasparilla Pirate Festival (often simply referred to as "Gasparilla"[1]) is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida almost every year since 1904. Gasparilla began in 1904 when Miss Louise Francis Dodge, society editor of the Tampa Tribune, and George W. Hardee, then with the federal government in Tampa, conspired to promote the City of Tampa and its May Day celebration. [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. [18] Since 2011, the parade route has ended at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park along the Tampa Riverwalk, where festivities continue into the evening. [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. [46] The fair moved to much larger grounds east of Tampa in 1976 and Plant Field is long since demolished, but the basic parade route has remained the same, traveling north up Bayshore Boulevard and ending in or near downtown, approximately 4.5 miles (7.2km) in total. Against a colorful backdrop of pirates, family secrets, and intrigue, Susan Wolf Johnson's King Daniel shines as a literary lighthouse on rocky shores. [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. To learn more, read this article. The award-winning Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts returns for its 53rd year on March 4th and 5th. [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. Gasparilla Pirate Festival - Wikipedia As described by the Boca Grande Historical Society, several Calusa and other Native American sites around Charlotte Harbor have suffered "unimaginable damage" at the hands of "looters in search of a non-pirate's non-treasure. Gasparilla was heavily criticized in the early 1990s for being mostly white and male. Chapman serves as the King for Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla this year. In the festivals early years the invasion was done on horseback. Florida Memory The Story of Gasparilla, booklet, 1946 [42][43] Besides promotional material and contact information for the Gasparilla Inn, the brochure prominently featured the "Story of Jose Gasparilla," the "last of the Buccaneers" who it said had terrorized the Gulf of Mexico for almost 40 years. Courtesy of Dan Barnes / Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. [12] Whether or not the mayor actually "surrenders", the pirates stage a "victory parade" along Bayshore Boulevard. 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. 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. [3][27] Most versions of the legend also claim that Gmez knew the whereabouts of Gaspar's vast treasure cache, which seems unlikely given that he petitioned the Lee County Commission for a $8 per month stipend due to destitution. A look ahead at the legislative session, Barbara Bryant, the first woman to head the U.S. census, has died at 96, Scientists find signs of horse riding in ancient human remains, A man dies of a brain-eating amoeba, possibly from rinsing his sinuses with tap water, Garland supports effort to hold Russia accountable for war crimes. Kite-Powell said it wasnt always easy to pull off such an invasion by sea. 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. [3], Gaspar has been associated with various other pirates, both historical and not. [23] However, during the 1880 US census, Gmez claimed to have been born in France in 1785. The story of Jos Gaspar's life and career vary in different tellings, especially regarding his origin. In 1936, YMKG commissioned Tampa Tribune editor Edwin D. Lambright to write an authorized history of the organization. Though there were plenty of boats in Tampas bustling port, pirates needed to find ships that were empty, which was difficult.