Princess Ulele Statues

The legend of Princess Ulele has become larger than life in Tampa Bay. In the 1500s, the young daughter of the Tocobaga chief Hirrihigua is said to have saved Spanish sailor Juan Ortiz from execution. Inspired by her determination and strength, a local restaurateur commissioned two statues in her honor.  

Richard Gozmart, fourth-generation co-owner and president of the 1905 Family of Restaurants Group, tapped Iceland-born artist Vala Ola to create the bronze statues. “Princess Ulele” was installed in 2014 in the center of a fountain outside the entrance to Ulele restaurant, also named in the Native royal’s honor. The 7-foot-tall, 500-pound statue is surrounded by water and a “ring of fire” lighting feature that comes on at night to illuminate her upturned face, shell-and-pearl jewelry, and clothes made of Spanish moss.

The 1,800-pound, 11-foot-tall bust titled “Ulele and the Lost Tribes” was originally installed nearby in 2017 but relocated to its current spot outside the restaurant in 2020. The piece “represents all the Native American tribes lost to the past. The rich history and tradition of the native peoples of America adds a beautiful layer to this land. Illnesses brought from Europe and warfare sadly caused some of the native tribes to be lost forever. This work of art honors those lost to us,” Ola said in her artists’ statement. “She is strong yet apprehensively looking towards the future. She is floating like an ethereal memory yet never to be forgotten." 

Often called “Florida’s Pocahontas,” Ulele divides historians about how much of her story is true. Historian Tom Worth says her name first appears in Live Travels and Adventures of Fernando de Sotot, published in 1859. Worth speculates that the author may have created the name “Ulele,” based on a legend of a previously anonymous woman. Regardless of how much of her bravery is fact or fiction, Ulele—and the two statues honoring her—continues to inspire admiration centuries later.