Selena

By popular request here are the pictures of Selena's statue. It's in a gazebo-type structure by the bay, and while it's not officially called a shrine, that's what it's turned into. There's a slow but steady stream of people who come by there to pay their respects. There's an exhibit at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History that explains the lost-wax process used to create the statue and how it was originally cast in 14 pieces. the msueum also has a small prototype statue that the sculptor made of her in a dress. The family asked him to redo it because they wanted her to be dressed as if about to perform on stage . . . the way her fans remember her.

Some visitors scrawl messages to Selena, either on the bricks around her statue or on the sides of her gazebo. It's pretty clear they don't see it as vandalism, and it does add a touch of poignancy to the memorial. Can't imagine the city is thrilled, though, and the recent date on many of those messages imply to me that it gets a fresh coat of paint pretty often. Here are some more pictures: