Full video from the TV coverage for the 2025 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates

The Gasparilla celebration in Tampa began in 1904, when a local group calling itself Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla staged a playful “pirate invasion” of the city. Inspired by the legend of a Spanish pirate named José Gaspar—who most historians agree is a fictional rather than a historical figure—the event was designed to enliven the city’s social calendar with a parade and Mardi Gras–style festivities. Over the decades, Gasparilla has grown into a major annual festival, featuring multiple parades, live music, and other community events. Today, it stands as one of Tampa’s most prominent cultural traditions, drawing large crowds and celebrating the city’s love of pirate lore, even if the character of José Gaspar himself remains more myth than fact.