Courtesy
S.T. Fernandez's book charts Gaspar’s life from admired admiral in the Spanish navy to reluctant pirate in the Caribbean and eventually to a fearsome legend.
In “The Legend of Gasparilla,” author S.T. Fernandez weaves historical fact and fiction together to create a sweeping and steamy love letter to both Gaspar and the culture born from the legendary “Last of the Buccaneers.”
“The story of Gasparilla had been on my computer for decades,” Fernandez told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “I had been researching and tucking away articles that told the story of Gaspar. I think that the most intriguing thing for all of us who have lived in the Tampa Bay area is, is this man real?”
Fernandez’s debut novel is just as much an epic and spicy pirate romance as it is an homage to the region that knows and loves Gaspar best: Tampa Bay. The former Orlando resident who now lives in California even dedicated the book to us—“For the people of Tampa Bay. Hoist the sails and fire the cannons!”
“It’s Tampa Bay’s story,” she said. “José Gaspar belongs to Tampa Bay.”
The book charts Gaspar’s life from admired admiral in the Spanish navy to reluctant pirate in the Caribbean and eventually to a fearsome legend.
“The actual legend is not a romance by any means. This is a pirate through and through,” Fernandez said. “But I said, well, why not turn this into a romance? Let’s just change this story to José Gaspar, the Spanish admiral who fell from grace, who fell in love with this woman and was going to do everything that he could to get back to her despite falling into darkness.”
The story is a twist on one version of Gaspar’s story, purporting the pirate nicknamed Gasparilla was falsely accused of stealing the crown jewels from the king of Spain by a scorned former lover. Facing arrest and severe punishment, Fernandez’s story shows Gaspar befriending a fellow inmate who helps him escape onto a ship out of town.
But Gaspar soon discovers the ship is captained by a ruthless pirate, who becomes instrumental in his transformation from honorable Spanish servant to swashbuckling thief. It takes Gaspar years to fully embrace his dark nature and proudly wear the moniker of pirate.
Central to this romantic Gasparilla tale is the pirate’s love interest, Joséfa de Mayorga, who is loosely based on conflicting folk stories of a Spanish princess whom Gaspar kidnaps. In Fernandez’s book, Joséfa’s father is based on the real-life Martín de Mayorga, who was Viceroy of New Spain in the late 1700s.
Useppa Island in Lee County is so named because of the lore surrounding Joséfa. The island is just south of Gasparilla Island, which is, of course, named for José Gaspar.
The novel’s Lieutenant Kearny also has a real-world counterpart in U.S. Navy Commodore Lawrence Kearny, who commanded the USS Enterprise in the West Indies (Caribbean) in the late 18th century.
Fernandez’s book is filled with historical connections like these, from Gaspar’s trips to Spanishtown Creek (now known as Hyde Park) to he and his crew’s founding of Gasparilla Island as a pirate oasis. Gaspar’s first mate Rodrigo Lopez and John Gómez also appear in the novel.
Gaspar’s ship is still La Floridablanca and his story ends in the same thrilling and mysterious way—with an anchor and a chain in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The author gives much credit to the Boca Grande Historical Society and its archives, especially “The Story of Gasparilla” pamphlet from 1928. The brochure was used to advertise the Gasparilla Inn and attract tourists to Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island. It’s also the first and primary source of the Gaspar legend.
A reimagined version of the pamphlet appears as a sort of prologue in “The Legend of Gasparilla.”
“This pamphlet…that’s where the story originated,” Fernandez said. “That’s fascinating to me. I just said, gosh, I really want to bring this story to life.”
Myth, legend or something in between, the story of José Gaspar is foundational to the history and culture of the Tampa Bay area, especially to the city of Tampa’s Gasparilla celebration, which returns this weekend on Saturday, Jan. 27. The annual Pirate Fest has been invading the old Spanishtown village of Hyde Park and Bayshore Boulevard for over a century.
“I wanted (readers) to understand just how much the story meant to the people of Tampa Bay,” Fernandez said.
Writing Gaspar’s tale also meant the world to Fernandez, whose family is from Spain and migrated to Puerto Rico during the rule of Francisco Franco. Fernandez fell in love with Tampa and its Spanish influences during excursions to the area when she was in college at St. Leo University.
“Look at the architecture of downtown. Look at Columbia restaurant. It’s gorgeous down there,” she said. “(With writing the book), I took a lot of that and said to myself, we need to take that history and make it come alive in our own area.”
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
