La Bamba is a 1987 American biographical film written and directed by Luis Valdez that follows the life and career of Chicano rock ’n’ roll star Ritchie Valens. The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck, and Joe Pantoliano. The film also covers the effect that Valens’ career had on the lives of his half-brother Bob Morales, his girlfriend Donna Ludwig and the rest of his family. (More from Wikipedia)
The 1987 film La Bamba that helped revive interest in Ritchie Valens’ music starred Lou Diamond Phillips; the Chicano rock band Los Lobos (celebrating their 40th anniversary together this year) faithfully recreated Ritchie Valens’ music in the movie.
As an example, I have previously written of the origin of the Ritchie Valens hit from 1958, “La Bamba”. The 1987 biopic film about Valens also took the name La Bamba, and “La Bamba” as performed in the film by the Chicano rock band Los Lobos became a Number One hit that year. This song originated in Veracruz (one of the 31 states in Mexico) and was particularly popular at weddings, where the bridge and groom would dance to this music; “La Bamba” might date from as long ago as the 14th Century and is said to have 500 verses. From Wikipedia: “[Ritchie] Valens’ version of ‘La Bamba’ is ranked number 354 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is the only song on the list sung in a language other than English.”
(February 2015)
