The film “La Bamba” is a musical biography based on the life of Ricardo Valenzuela released on July 24, 1987. Ricardo, or better known as Ritchie later in life, was a 15- year old migrant worker who worked with his mother Connie in the fields. Their life as a migrant worker was typical and habitual, until Ritchie’s stepbrother, Bob, came soaring on his Harley bike and changed their life. He persuades them to leave the camp and move to Pacoima where he has a house. They agree and the next morning they pack up their belongings and leave. Bob also brings along a young women named Rosie Morales who is so tired of the same life, so she hops on the back of the Harley and doesn’t look back. Life soon settles down for them in Pacoima. At the local high school Ritchie meets a young woman by the name of Donna and he falls for her. Although her conservative father is against the relationship, Ritchie proves his love later by writing her a love song with her name in it. Along the path to fame, Ritchie auditions for a local band that turns out to be envious of his talent. Therefore, he decides to go solo and with his family’s support is able to perform for his town. Although his relationship with Bob is rocky, he helps Ritchie and distributes fliers to promote his show. After the show Ritchie is scouted and his big breaks begins, but in order to assimilate he needs a new alias. So, instead of Ricardo Valenzuela, he is now known as Ritchie Valens. As his fame begins to rise, he doesn’t forget about his family. He buys his mom the home she always wanted, he encourages Bob to follow his drawing dreams and he buys himself a new car. His love for Donna was the same as the day they met even though the father disagreed. During his tour he refused to fly but had to compromise a few times. The last one was unfortunately the last gamble of his life. He boarded a small passenger plane in Clear Lake, Iowa, along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. The Plane was hit by lighting, crashed to the grounds and instantaneously killed everyone aboard.

The fall of Ritchie Valens was a big downfall for Chicano Rock n’ Roll.
Although, Ritchie paved the path for Chicanos into main street America, the struggles he faced are tangible. He had to struggle in accepting his newly found name, Ritchie Valens. He wanted to keep his original name because he was proud of the fact that his father left him with the last name Valenzuela. In the poem “I am Joaquin” by Corky Gonzalez he speaks of standing strong in one’s roots and for all Chicanos to demand acceptance. Obviously Ritchie made the choice that best suited him and he changed his name unwillingly. This is a good example of how Chicanos had the dilemma of trying to assimilate with American culture and trying to stay true to their roots.

I believe the success of Ritchie Valens had to be because the support of his family. Chicano Families have strong family ties to each other. The mother is a single parent who has a strong will and supports her children, even if that means working in fields. Although Bob is his step-brother he returns back from jail to “liberate” his family from poverty. Bobs character has notes of machismo in him because he feels obligated as the oldest man in their life to rescue them. Furthermore, bobs new girlfriend receives the worst end of his machismo. He impregnates her and treats her like a “sex slave” and disregards her feelings. He goes out on binges and demands respect even after Ritchie is now the biggest contributor of the family. Bobs character in the movie is a perfect example of machismo because he rapes women of their freedom.