His family has been a part of the fun for decades. 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. 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,. An average of over 300,000 people attend the event, which contributes over $20 million to the local economy.[38]. 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). 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.. [52][60] The number of krewes and similar civic organizations has continued to grow in recent years, dampening controversies over inclusion. Im also committed to holding those in power accountable when they fail to prioritize the health needs of the people they serve. [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. Letsgetstarted. [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. Title. 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. [47], The main Gasparilla parade was held in conjunction with various other events in its early years, so its timing varied, and it sometimes was not held at all. Many of the same krewes - large and small - also participate in the Gasparilla Children's Parade and the Sant'Yago Knight Parade. Despite the fact that the Annual Gasparilla Festival started in 1904 to celebrate "Pirate . 1904 - 1920; 1921 - 1929; . 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. 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. [7], Several historians and other interested parties have attempted to find documentation of Gaspar's existence without success. [10] The parade has been broadcast live on local television for decades: WFLA-TV has provided coverage since 1955, and WTVT-TV also covered the parade from 1955 to 1980. The focal point is still an "invasion" by Jos Gaspar and his crew, which takes place on the last Saturday in January. 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.
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