Selena lives in the hearts of South Texans

David Adame /Caller-Times

People from around the world come to Corpus Christi to see the statue of Selena and pay their respects.

Each day, visitors can be seen at Selena's seawall statue, one of Corpus Christi's most prominent tourist attractions. Selena Quintanilla-Perez was an acclaimed Tejano singer and Corpus Christi resident who was on the verge of achieving international stardom when she was shot to death on March 31, 1995, by former fan club president Yolanda Saldivar. Selena was 23 years old.

Her death sparked a wide outpouring of grief and prompted half a dozen books and a movie. Saldivar was convicted of murdering the singer and is serving a life prison sentence.
 

Fans come to Corpus Christi to see the Mirador del Flor on the seawall, which
includes the statue of Selena; Selena Etc. Boutique and Salon, which she started and her sister now manages; Q Productions Inc. Recording Studio and Museum, her father's studio where her songs were produced; the Days Inn, where she was shot; and her gravesite at Seaside Memorial Park.

Other points of interest to Selena devotees include her house, 709 Bloomington, and the hotel where she was killed: Days Inn, 901 Navigation. Tourists will not be able to search for hotel room 158, where it happened, because the hotel renumbered the entire floor.

Many people living in or near Corpus Christi visit the sites regularly and bring their friends. During Holy Week -- the week before and including Easter Sunday -- many of the visitors include fans from Mexico.

Selena points of interest
*Q Productions, 5410 Leopard
*Days Inn, 901 Navigation
*Mirador del Flor, Peoples St. T-Head 4. Planet Luna 209 N. Chaparral
*Selena's grave, Seaside Memorial Park & Funeral Home, 4357 Ocean

The Selena statue

As the years pass, the bayfront statue of Selena Quintanilla-Perez continues to make the transition from tourist attraction to shrine. Like the Alamo, it's a place both to gawk, and to pay respects.
   "They visit her statue as a quasi-holy ground," says Leo Carrillo, professor of Mexican- American studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "Corpus Christi is better known because of Selena."
   Number of daily visitors
   Uncounted, unknown, but for the statue to be unattended by visitors is a rare sight.
   Title
   Mirador de la Flor
   Design details
  

• Made of bronze
    
• Height is 5 feet 8 inches, life-size
    
• Surrounded by a stainless steel 4-foot barrier to protect it from vandalism
    
• Its face is turned toward the water
    
• A single white, sculpted rose is next to her
    
• Black leather outfit depicted in statue is housed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
     La flor: White roses were Selena's favorite and have come to symbolize the singer
     Unveiled: May 25, 1997, about two years, two months after her death
     Location: Entrance of Peoples Street T-Head
     Sculptor: H.W. "Buddy" Tatum of Corpus Christi
     Cost: $600,000 for both statue and pavilion
     Benefactor: Devary Durrill Foundation
     Inscription: "Her stage is now silent. Yet, her persona enriched the lives of those she touched and her music lives on..."