Real Life Rock Bands on Screen

La Bamba, 1987
Although Ritchie Valens' recording career lasted only eight months, it paved the way for future generation of many chicano artists. In this Luis Valdez-directed biopic, the Latino rocker is played by Lou Diamond Phillips, who gives a critically acclaimed performance that propelled the film to a Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture, Drama in 1988. The story traces Valens' ascent to stardom, weaving in his personal relationships and ending, of course, with the fatal plane crash that killed him, Buddy Holly, and The Big Bopper in 1959.

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