Corpus Christi Pilot – Corpus Christi is Texas’s eighth-largest city, yet it often lives in the shadow of bigger names. Founded as a Gulf Coast trading post, it grew steadily through the 1800s and early 1900s, powered by its deep-water port and petroleum industry. In the mid-1980s, however, a global oil bust shook the local economy and slowed that momentum. A decade later, the tragic 1995 murder of beloved Tejano star Selena left a cultural wound that, for many, seemed to pause the city’s story. Growth has continued—energy, shipping, and tourism remain strong—but public perception has lagged behind the city’s quiet progress.

In recent years, leaders like Mayor Paulette Guajardo and the team at Visit Corpus Christi have worked to shift that narrative, championing downtown revitalization, arts investment, and new tourism campaigns. We were invited to help capture this turning point. Our cameras followed sunrise over the bay, the glow of the Harbor Bridge, and the everyday grit of neighborhoods in motion, while also highlighting locals whose creativity is shaping what comes next. The finished film helped spark fresh hometown pride, earned local press, and gave city partners powerful visuals to market Corpus Christi as a place of culture, resilience, and possibility.