I’m sure everyone knows that Gasparilla is a giant parade with beads, pirate costumes, and people passing out on the lawns of Bayshore. Yet, most people don’t know the history behind the party. In 1904, some social leaders in Tampa where trying to come up with a theme for Tampa’s May festival.  George W. Hardee, who was with the Federal Government in Tampa, thought that a good theme would be the history of Jose Gasper a.k.a. Gasparilla.
Now who the heck is Jose Gasper? Jose Gasper was first a lieutenant in the Royal Spanish Navy, but when he seized command of a Spanish sloop-of-war, he set sail for Florida with his crew. Gasper was now an outlaw of the sea and one of the last Buccaneers. He terrorized the west coast of Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Yet, when Gasper died he supposedly left buried treasure somewhere along the Florida coast, but it has yet to be found.
Tampa’s May festival became known as Gasparilla, yet in 2002 the tradition changed and they moved the celebration to the last Saturday of January. Â Thanks to George W. Hardee, we celebrate a dude who has terrorized so many people in Florida, with a pirate invasion, good food, cold drinks, and a parade. Â This Saturday carry out the tradition, go out and party like a pirate, but don’t let Gasper down!