Corpus Christi is also a capital of Tejano culture. The music that grew up along this stretch of South Texas found its brightest star in Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the Queen of Tejano music, and the city honors her at the Mirador de la Flor on the seawall — a place of flowers, sea wind, and quiet visits from fans who never stopped coming. Heritage Park keeps the old houses; the wind that never quits has made the flats of the Laguna Madre and Bird Island Basin one of the best windsurfing and kiteboarding waters in the country.
The Navy arrived in 1941, and naval aviation training has shaped the city ever since — which made it fitting that the Blue Ghost chose Corpus Christi for her retirement. The bayfront grew around her: the Texas State Aquarium next door, the arched Harbor Bridge of 1959 rising over the ship channel, the eight Moorish-styled miradores gazebos strung along the seawall. Downtown, the 1940 Spanish-Colonial cathedral holds the city's oldest name over its doors.
Why People Visit Corpus Christi Texas
- Tour the USS Lexington, the WWII carrier "the Blue Ghost," moored as a museum on the bayfront.
- Explore the Texas State Aquarium for Gulf of Mexico wildlife and sea-turtle conservation.
- Walk the wild dunes and beaches of Padre Island National Seashore — nearly seventy miles of protected barrier island and Kemp's ridley turtle nesting grounds.
- Beachcomb and birdwatch on Mustang Island, just across the causeway.
- Stroll the downtown seawall, the marina, and the bayfront miradores for skyline and harbor views.
- Visit the Mirador de la Flor, the bayfront seaside memorial to the Queen of Tejano music.
- Wander Heritage Park's restored historic homes for the city's multicultural story.
