La Bamba (film)

La Bamba
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLuis Valdez
Written byLuis Valdez
Based on
Produced byTaylor Hackford
Bill Borden
Starring
CinematographyAdam Greenberg
Edited bySheldon Kahn
Don Brochu
Music byCarlos Santana
Miles Goodman
Production
company
New Visions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • July 24, 1987 (1987-07-24) (United States)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6.5 million
Box office$54.2 million

La Bamba is a 1987 American biographical drama film written and directed by Luis Valdez. The film follows the life and short-lived musical career of American Chicano rock and roll star Ritchie Valens.[1][2][3] The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck and Joe Pantoliano. The film also covers the effect that Valens' career had on the lives of his half-brother Bob Morales, his girlfriend Donna Ludwig, and the rest of his family. The film is titled after a traditional Mexican folk song of the same name, which Valens transformed into a rock and roll rendition in 1958.

In 2017, La Bamba was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.[4][5]

  1. ^ Machado, Yolanda (May 3, 2021). "'La Bamba' and the Lives It Changed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "Revisiting La Bamba, the Ritchie Valens Biopic That Underscores the Myth of the American Dream". Pitchfork. August 27, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "How true is the movie La Bamba?". Cement Answers. September 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "2017 National Film Registry Is More Than a 'Field of Dreams'". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.