Question: The Gasparilla Pirate Fest, Tampa’s longest-standing tradition, honors whose legendary life?
Answer: Jose Gaspar, who went by the name Gasparilla.
Gasparilla is an annual pirate invasion, culminating in a celebratory parade down Tampa’s famed Bayshore Boulevard. Gasparilla became a tradition in 1904 after local planners decided to make the legend of Jose Gasparilla into the theme for that year’s May Day celebration. The Tampa Tribune published a series of letters from Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, a crew of 50 men assembled by George Hardee, which offered details about pirate invasions by King Gasparilla and his court.
