Ybor City, to be sure, remains a work in progress.
It is, of course, the historic, immigrant soul of Tampa, but since the oxymoronic heyday of urban renewal, it has been in identity-crisis mode. No need to re-chronicle that here, but suffice it to say that wooing business relocatees, residents, shoppers and diners to a wet-zoned venue frequented by drunks and punks is quite the challenge.
One that, quite arguably, warrants curfews, decibel-ordinances and a high-profile police presence.
It also involves proactive marketing or “branding” of Tampa’s venerable historic — and entertainment — district.
But there’s been recent talk of “re-branding,” and it has created a stir among some vested Ybor interests. They’ve not taken kindly to elements of the gay community aggressively promoting Ybor as “Gaybor.”
In the Ybor-based, weekly newspaper La Gaceta , publisher-editor Patrick Manteiga took the gay-themed re-branding move to task. He said that a “Gaybor” gambit “will only confuse the consumer and disrespects the area’s historic name