La Bamba

La Bamba was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I fell in love with the music since the start. When I first watched it I simply saw it as a “biographical musical”. My parents explained to me that it was a movie telling the story of a real person. I never thought much of it just felt sad that such a great musical artist died so tragically. However, it is interesting how much more you see when you want to see beyond the simple story line.

La Bamba is a film that attempts to retell the life story of Ritchie Valens. He was more than a singer he was a pioneer for Chicanos! I pioneer who helped open the door for Chicanos in this country. Obviously, it was not that easy. Even though he was a man of a very obvious talent, being Latino was still an issue. His name was Richard Valenzuela but having a Latino name was going to probably stunt his growth outside the Latino community. So they “white washed” his name to Ritchie Valens. I understand that sometimes artists change their birth name to a completely different name on stage but this was something more racial. As if Latinos can’t have talent but then again that is the oppression of the Latinos.

We also see some Machismo that is portrayed through Ritchie’s brother Bob. This is the reality of our Latino culture like the poems and our readings have talked about thus far. Woman are constantly reminded of their roles as Latina woman. They have to be the submissive and Rosie is the perfect example of this.

Aside’s from the music and the insight of Ritchie’s life, the audience also gets insight on how “traditional” Latino families are. Not only with the machismo but with the discrimination of color like Donna’s dad on her relationship with Ritchie. Perhaps, people might think that absurd discrimination is no longer in existence but it is not. Chicanos, constantly have to battle being accepted for our brown skin not just yesterday but today as well. This was a great film a classic that I had never really over analyzed. I’m glad this assignment gave me this opportunity to do that. Ritchie might be gone but his music lives on as a reminder that Chicano’s can do it all if they don’t let things get past the skin.

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