La Bamba

Lou Diamond Phillips immortalizes the life of ’50s rock-and-roller Ritchie Valens in 1987’s La Bamba. The biopic tells the story of Valens’ family life in the years leading up to his fame, focusing on the young Latino’s teenage years (when he was then known as Ritchie Valenzuela). Ritchie learns to play rock music while hanging out with his older, rebellious half-brother, who later becomes jealous of Valens’ celebrity and favored position in the family. La Bamba is sweetly sentimental, a humble story of a rising star whose life was tragically (and infamously) cut short. 

Updated 04/29/2010