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Coming nine years after the impressive The Buddy Holly Story, Luis Valdez' La Bamba tells the story of Ricky Valenzuela, who as Ritchie Valens put his mark on Rock 'n' Roll with a career that lasted less than one year. Buddy Holly's three years of busy activity generated a much larger and valued body of songs, while Valens had only eight months to generate three hit records. Yet Valens is remembered for more than just his shared demise with Holly -- he was the first Mexican-American to make a mark in Rock 'n' Roll, and he didn't have to leave his cultural identity behind. His big hit song La Bamba not only 'crossed over' but remains one of the most-played songs from the 1950s. 
The movie launched the career of Lou Diamond Phillips, who is actually of mixed American and Philippine descent; Phillips captures perfectly the image of a late- 50's L.A. chicano of high style. La Bamba is unusual in that it examines the Mexican-American experience and does not focus on crime or discrimination. Writer-director Luis Valdez infuses the film with cultural authenticity and honesty.
Sixteen year-old Ricardo Valenzuela (Lou Diamond Phillips) moves with his widowed mother Connie (Rosana De Soto) to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, and concentrates on his love of Rock 'n' Roll music. As a second-generation American he writes, sings and plays guitar in an American style -- and he's not fluent in Spanish. The music carries him forward through family difficulties. His half-brother Bob Morales (Esai Morales) has served time in jail after Connie turned him. Bob rides a motorcycle to transport Marijuana across the border. He
Most viewers don't know that the movie La Bamba was written and directed by Luis Valdez, the son of farm workers who became a noted playwright and activist for pro-union causes. His play Zoot Suit introduced Edward James Olmos and the subsequent film version is his only other theatrical film as director. As La Bamba is not a political film Valdez is able to present an image of the Mexican-American underclass in a non-confrontational context. Young Ricky has a big heart but also strong support from his mother; his brother's difficulties lie more in personality than social disadvantage. Valdez isn't afraid to show Bob Morales selling grass and taking Ricky on a trip to a low-life Tijuana brothel. He's a lout who mistreats his common-law wife and terrorizes the family with his drunken outbursts. But he's also a frustrated artist lacking with the personal tools to develop his talent. Valdez communicates the strong ties that hold Mexican-American families together. Connie Valenzuela is a particularly nurturing mother who raises kids, works as a waitress and supports and encourages Ricky's ambitions. It doesn't hurt that Ricky is positively motivated. When the producer talks him into abandoning his band to pursue a solo career, he knows instantly why he must agree -- he's doing it for his family. We're told that Valdez elicited full cooperation from the Valenzuela family. The real Connie Valenzuela appears in one scene. |
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steals Ricky's girlfriend Rosie (Elizabeth Peña) and shacks up with her without marriage. Everything goes right for Ricky when he turns seventeen. Connie encourages his singing, and he attracts a band of his own. He forms a crush on Donna Ludwig (Danielle von Zerneck), a blond Anglo classmate who doesn't care that her father forbids her to see him. And he's 'discovered' by Del-Fi record producer Bob Keane (Joe Pantoliano), who shows him how to record professionally and changes his name to Ritchie Valens. Ritchie flies to Philadelphia for American Bandstand and becomes a nationwide hit. Bob's jealous and destructive outbursts create more problems. Ritchie has a new car and is able to buy his mother a new house. He's a levelheaded kid who knows what he wants, and the future looks great.
