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The unabashed resort town of CORPUS CHRISTI is reached along the coast on Hwy-35 from Houston or Galveston, or on I-37 from San Antonio. Originally a rambunctious trading post, it too was hit by a fierce hurricane, in 1919, but recovered, transforming itself into a center for naval air training, petroleum and shipping. Much of the population is Hispanic, and the community was devastated in March 1995, when the 23-year-old singer Selena was shot dead in a motel parking lot by the former president of her fan club. Selena was on the verge of becoming the first major cross-over star of Tejano music, a hybrid of Mexican rhythms, German polka and reggae-influenced Colombian cumbia , and fifty thousand fans turned out for her funeral. In addition to the Selena Auditorium at the Bayfront Convention Center, there's a memorial to the singer just south of Peoples Street on Shoreline Boulevard; a new Selena Museum , 5410 Leopard St, is stuffed with Selena memorabilia, from her famously extravagant gowns to her Porsche (MonFri 911.45am & 16pm; free). The visitor center can supply a free map of Selena-centric stops.

Apart from fishing, sailing and water sports across the channel on Padre Island, there's not a great deal to do in Corpus Christi. The impressive collection of the Philip Johnson-designed South Texas Institute for the Arts , 1902 N Shoreline Blvd (TuesSat 10am5pm, Sun 15pm, first Thurs of the month until 9pm; $3; tel 361/825-3500, www.stia.org ), includes pieces by Monet and Picasso. Further along N Shoreline Boulevard, at no. 2710, is the massive Texas State Aquarium (summer MonSat 9am6pm, Sun 10am6pm; rest of year until 5pm; $9; tel 361/881-1200 or 1-800/477-GULF, www.texasstateaquarium.org ), which nonetheless feels cramped compared to the aquarium in Galveston. Adjacent is the USS Lexington (summer daily 9am6pm; rest of year until 5pm; $10; www.usslexington.com ), a World War II aircraft carrier that's impressive to walk around, though the few exhibits on board are weak. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History , 1900 N Chaparral St (daily: summer 9am6pm; rest of year 9am5pm; $8; tel 361/883-2862, www.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/services/museum ), specializes in hands-on natural history exhibits, on topics ranging from shipwrecks to shells to, curiously, the building of the Selena memorial. Moored in the harbor a short walk from the museum, the Columbus Fleet (included in the museum admission) consists of life-size replicas of Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria and Pinta .