CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Local's and tourist's hearts go bidi bidi bom bom when they visit the famous Selena Quintanilla statue on shoreline boulevard.
Selena fans travel from all over the country just to remember her legacy and see the statue.
But the statue might not be what they expected. The speaker system and some of the lights do not work.
The area surrounding the Selena statue is cleaned three times a day, seven times a week.
We looked into the statue maintenance and upkeep after receiving a call from a viewer. The call comes days before what would have been Selena Quintanilla’s 52nd birthday which is on April 16.
We reached out to the City of Corpus Christi’s Parks and Recreation Department who told us they are working on a contract to replace all the lighting around the statue and miradors along the seawall. It will cost an estimated $400,000. Lighting work is predicted to begin at the end of the fiscal year.
The Parks and Recreation Department also said the speaker system is in the process of being replaced. They did not say when that will be worked on.
Tourist come from all over the United States to visit the statue, like Guadalupe Espinosa from San Diego, California. Espinosa and her husband never got to go to any of Selena's concerts, but that didn't stop them from loving her any less.
“We really like her music and her legacy and I think it would be nice if they did those repairs so the people that come at night can have a better view. I’m going to be coming at night to see what it looks like,” Espinosa said.
This was Espinosa's first time visiting the statue. There was also other first time visitors, like Devetta Strickland from Indiana. She was in Corpus Christi on a layover as a flight attendant. As soon as she found out she would be in the city, she put the Selena statue on her bucket list of things to do.
"It's just something you want to see when you come here. It's pretty cool but there's always room for improvement," Strickland said.
Although visitors enjoy their time taking pictures with the statue, they said they are excited to see some positive maintenance changes.