La Bamba – Chicano/a Topics
Luis Valdez’s film La Bamba(1987) is a perfect depiction of the issues Chicanos were facing during the 1950s. This movie follows the journey of a Chicano musician, Richie Valenzuela, who is struggling to find a way to make it in the competitive industry of music. There are obstacles that he encounters within his family, relationship with a girl, and the society around him. The topics that are presented in this movie cover the issues concerning kinship, gender roles, and racism/discrimination.
The first scene of the movie shows the agricultural working environments of Chicanos during this time. It shows how tightly knitted the family structure is. Each family lives in their tents and the sense of kinship and community are easy to see. This sense of kinship is not limited to the immediate family; it is seen throughout the entire field of workers. You can also see this when the family is planning to set up flyers for Richie’s upcoming show.
La Bamba depicts what a woman family might have looked at in the 1950s. The mother does not have a home to call hers, a child of hers is turning to drugs to cope with stress, and she is raising several children with no husband. She is playing both the role of mother and father. This movie shows how hard it is to find employment that can provide enough income to support a family.
The movie does a great job in showing the machismo attitude that Chicano men carry with them. The character of Bob is determined to get his family out of the fields and into a comfortable home. He later goes on to live with Rosie and treat her with no respect. She eventually gets tired of being uses physically and mentally. Bob is entitled to seeing his baby and woman at his convenience even if he is completely drunk and acting out violently. He treats Rosie as commodity rather than an equal to him. Rosie is torn because she has no wear to go or no way to support herself besides Bob’s family which is already struggling to make ends meet.
Rosie is also more accepting of this behavior and takes on a submissive role in the movie. She is quick to run away from home and move in with a man. She continues to accept the way he treats her (as she is expected to in a machismo society) but she eventually stands up for herself and sets boundaries for Bob.
Lastly, this film presents racism and discrimination that Chicanos/as were facing during the 1950s. The most visited issue is the one Donna’s father has with her dating a Chicano. He makes it a point to make sure his daughter stops going out with him. When the producer tries to decide a name for Richie he proposes one that does not sound too Mexican. He chooses a name that America wouldn’t have a problem hearing. You can see how Richie is bothered by this but does not question it. His identity is being denied in the larger society controlled by patriarchy and American ethnocentrism.