Since 1904, Florida has been celebrating the plundering of Tampa by the Spanish pirate, Jose Gaspar and his marauding band of buccaneers at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, held every year in January.
Since 1904, Florida has been celebrating the plundering of Tampa by the Spanish pirate, Jose Gaspar and his marauding band of buccaneers at the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, held every year in January. A large Spanish galleon arrives in Tampa Bay to kick off the event, which is escorted by hundreds of small ships. The pirates come to shore for a five-mile parade route featuring floats and marching bands, in which they fire thousands of blank shots in the air and throw gold coins and beads into the crowd.