Richie Valens

Richie Valens was only 17 years old when he died. Born Richard Steven Valenzuela in southern California, he learned to play guitar at age eleven. Valens was influenced by Mexican folk songs, country music on the radio, and singing cowboy movies. He played for school assemblies and parties in high school. Valens joined a band called The Silhouettes and had locally steady work.

Valens’ followup single was “Donna”, a song written for his girlfriend, with a Mexican folk song called “La Bamba” on the flip side. Both songs were riding high on the charts when Valens signed on for a tour with Buddy Holly and two other acts. Valens life was the subject of the 1987 movie La Bamba.

“Ritchie Valens really was the first Mexican-American rock star. No one had reached the popularity that he did,” says New York-based filmmaker John J. Valadez, whose documentary “La Onda Chicana” will screen at next month’s 31st Annual CineFestival de San Antonio he who was remarkably young enjoyed a remarkably short career and also had remarkable musical influence.