La Bamba

To continue my interest in the origins of rock and roll music, I decided to Netflix the movie "La Bamba". After enjoying the movie "The Buddy Holly Story", I knew that "La Bamba" could have just as much potential, seeing as though they shared similar stories. "La Bamba" is about the short, but illustrious life of the young Hispanic Rock N' Roll singer known as Ritchie Valens. Valens is played by the actor Lou Diamond Phillips, doing a great job on his role. The movie goes into detail about some of his teenage life, his rapid growth to fame, and of course his passing. If you read my previous post on "The Buddy Holly Story", then you would be aware that Ritchie Valens, as well as the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly, all died on a horrific plane crash in a blizzard. Unfortunately their influential efforts on Rock N' Roll came to an end, but their music will never be forgotten. Ritchie Valens brought his own special twist to Rock N' Roll, changing up the beats of several songs such as "La Bamba", which of course is where the name of the movie was derived from. His roll on Rock N' Roll will always be remembered and greatly appreciated forever.

The movie begins in southern California in the year 1957, where Valens works on a peach vineyard with his mother and brother. Ritchie is a very confident and determined young man when it comes to his love for music. He continues to promise his mother that he will get her the home of her dreams when he becomes rich and famous. Later on Valens Brother Bob, who is somewhat of a rebellious young man, ends up betraying Valens by sleeping with his girlfriend. However, in Valens good nature, he decides to forgive his brother, later moving to the west coast of California with him and his mother Connie. Valens and his brother continue to share a distraught relationship throughout the movie, mainly due to the fact that Bob felt that his mother had always appreciated Ritchie more. Soon Ritchie meets a girl that he falls in love with named Donna, who he later writes a song about. Further on in the movie, Ritchie Valens is discovered by a small time record producer at a dance. This is where Valens gets the extra boost he needed to help develop his music career, making him one of the most popular singers in 1958. The movie goes on to tell you more about his life as a musician, his unfortunate death, and the mourning of his family. There is definitely a lot more to this movie than I already told you so I would definitely recommend you see it. It is truly a great movie that I am sure any music lover will enjoy! Here is a short preview to help you decide: "La Bamba". I hope that everyone enjoys this one as much as I did!