Tampa, Florida Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Early 20th century=== During the first few decades of the 20th century, the cigar-making industry was the backbone of Tampa's economy. The factories in Ybor City and West Tampa made an enormous number of cigars—in the peak year of 1929, over 500 million cigars were hand rolled in the city.<ref>Lastra, Frank, ''Ybor City: The Making of a Landmark Town''</ref> In 1904, a civic association of local businessmen dubbed themselves [[Ye Mystic Krewe|Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla]] (named after local mythical pirate José Gaspar), and staged an "invasion" of the city followed by a parade. With a few exceptions, the [[Gasparilla Pirate Festival]] has been held every year since.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gasparillapiratefest.com |title=Gasparilla Pirate Festival – Tampa, Florida |publisher=Gasparillapiratefest.com |access-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-date=February 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225142224/http://www.gasparillapiratefest.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page