Corpus Christi Bayfront
It was in 1519 that a Spanish explorer, Alonzo Alvarez de Piñeda, discovered Corpus Christi Bay. Three hundred years later, in 1838, a trading post was established overlooking Corpus Christi Bay and named Kinney's Trading Post, after its founder, Colonel Henry Lawrence Kinney. It was not until 1852 that the trading post became an incorporated city and was named Corpus Christi, meaning "The Body of Christ".
Another colorful bit of Corpus Christi's history has its setting in the early 1800's, when Pirate Jean Lafitte and his band of pirates plundered and pilfered trading ships plying the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1812, Jean Lafitte and his men aided General Andrew Jackson's troops in the defense of New Orleans in the Civil War of that year. Because of that aid, President James Madison gave Lafitte a full pardon for his crimes of piracy.
It is said that following this presidential pardon Pirate Lafitte moved his pirate band to Texas and established headquarters on the present site of Corpus Christi in 1821, some seventeen years before Col. Kinney founded his trading post.
Corpus Christi has an annual celebration based on this romantic history. Had the Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Piñeda received the same treatment when he arrived here in 1519 that the modern-day Alonzo received during Corpus Christi's first Buccaneer Days, this might still be an unsettled area.
Buccaneer Days was held for the first time in June of 1938 and the initial three-day celebration was centered around the discovery and naming of Corpus Christi Bay by the Spaniard.
The festivities were launched on Friday, June 3 of that year with a mock landing by Alonzo, who was to be the main star of the first annual Buccaneer Days parade and historical pageant.
The night before the landing a paper profile of a Spanish Galleon was erected on the breakwater in the bay. The next day, the modern Alonzo, played by Corpus Christi attorney Marcellus Eckhardt, traveled from the mock ship to shore in a motor boat with a band of gunbearers and a monk, all dressed in what was believed to be the style of the 16th century.
Alonzo and his men were greeted on shore by a host of city dignitaries and presented a key to the city by Mayor A.C. McCaughan. After these ceremonies, the city officials jumped in cars and roared up the street to join the parade.
Poor Alonzo, who was supposed to be the star of the affair, and his band of men were left standing on the bayfront under a hot June sun. They ended up at the tail of the parade.
That first Buccaneer Days celebration in 1938 was a descendant of Splash Days celebrations that had been observed here for the previous 21 years. Apparently started in 1917, Splash Days consisted mainly of a bathing beauty contest on North Beach to signify the beginning of summer. By 1937, it has become a three-day event sponsored by merchants. However, most residents and participants in Splash Days felt the celebration lacked the glamour that the growing city of Corpus Christi deserved.
In 1938 the first Buccaneer Days Commission was formed to plan a celebration emphasizing the beginning of the summer season. The Commission's primary objective was to add more glamour and excitement to the annual celebration by building the event around the city's history, while developing and supporting educational, cultural and entertainment programs that would benefit all the citizens of Corpus Christi.
The major events of the first celebration were the parade, featuring five bands, about 15 floats and other entries, an historical pageant and ball. Carried over from Splash Days was the bathing beauty contest and some other aquatic events.
With the exception of the years during World War II, Buccaneer Days has continued to grow. The "landing of Alonzo" has been replaced by the invasion of the city by Pirate Queens who represent a period when pirates took refuge in Corpus Christi Bay some 300 years after its discovery. These pirate queens sail into the Yacht Basin and capture the mayor, who surrenders for the fun of the thing. They lower the city flag and raise their black skull and crossbones. The Mayor reads the proclamation that the city has surrendered to pirate rule and is made to walk the traditional plank. From that moment on, Buccaneer Days is in full swing in an atmosphere of gaiety that speaks of ships, pirates and buried treasure.
While the Buc Days Illuminated Night Parade continues to remain as an enlarged and modified reminder of the first celebration in 1938, the present Buc Days celebration now includes a top-50 PRCA Pro Rodeo, BBQ Challenge, Folklorico Competition, Jr. Parade, Carnival, Pre-parade Stadium Show, Fireworks and numerous auxiliary events as well.
Since its inception in 1938, Buc Days has come to mean gaiety, laughter and music to all ages.