[2] In his role as a privateer, he targeted trade routes between Cádiz and the Caribbean, on several occasions attacking British and Dutch merchant ships,[3] earning recognition in his time as a hero and coming to be regarded as "the Spanish equivalent of Francis Drake".

Traditionally, it has been believed that this pseudonym means that the raider was "fast", "elusive in battle" and "moving in the sea as the aforementioned fish", the red porgy (also called Pargo).

[6] Amaro Pargo's participation in the Spanish treasure fleet had to have started between 1703 and 1705, and at this time he is mentioned as "captain" and "master" of the frigate Ave María y Las Ánimas.

[11] Later in 1737 he is mentioned as the owner of El Mercader de Canarias, captained by John Plunket, and as sharing ownership with another merchant vessel of La Laguna, Don Pedro Dujardin.

Amaro Pargo led his own ships to America laden with wine from Malvasía (which were from his own harvests) and brandy (also his), which he sold in Havana and Guyana.

In 1712, Pargo captured the British-flagged merchant ship Saint Joseph, which operated out of Dublin, Ireland and was commanded by Captain Alexander Westher.

[14] The Spanish monarch Felipe V, in a Royal Decree dated in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on 24 October 1719, authorized Amaro Pargo to build a ship in Campeche.

[12] Pargo became romantically involved with the Cuban Josefa María del Valdespino, with whom he had an illegitimate son, but did not marry.

Another illegitimate son was Juan Rodríguez Felipe born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and who would be buried in the parish of St. Mark in Tegueste.

[18] Those searching for romance have over the centuries wanted to see deeper meaning in the friendship between the privateer and the nun 25 years older than him.

Balbina Rivero, author of Amaro Pargo, el pirata de Tenerife, suggests that interpretation in his book.

[8] Others reject it, including the author of El Sarcófago de las tres llaves, Pompeyo Reina Moreno, saying their friendship was based on devotional reasons.

[12] This carved chest contained silver, gold jewelry, pearls and precious stones of great value, chinese porcelain, rich fabrics and paintings, adding that they were itemised in a book wrapped in parchment and marked with the letter "D".

The house of Amaro Pargo in Machado (in the municipality of El Rosario) was sacked over the years by treasure hunters.

[25] Among the novels inspired by him are Amaro Pargo, el pirata de Tenerife by Balbina Rivero, and El Sarcófago de las Tres Llaves by Pompeyo Reina,[26] and the Argentine writer Ernesto Frers makes reference to Amaro Pargo in his work Más allá del legado pirata.

[23][29][30] In 2023, the American television series Expedition Unknown dedicated a chapter to the figure of Amaro Pargo with the title "Riches of Spain's Pirate King".

In the theatrical play La Conquista más pirata of Timaginas Teatro, Amaro Pargo shares the limelight with Rear Admiral Horacio Nelson, the Catholic Monarchs and Alonso Fernández de Lugo.

[33] In the year 2022, in the month of May, coinciding with Amaro's birth anniversary, an album dedicated entirely to his figure called El Corsario de Aguere is released, under the direction and musical production of Raquel Álvarez.

[34] The City Council of San Cristóbal de La Laguna launched in 2021 an interactive video game entitled El tesoro de Amaro Pargo, which allows you to discover the main historical-artistic values of this city, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.