Ritchie Valens

Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died in a plane crash just eight months after his breakthrough.

Valens had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which he had adapted from a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement. He also had an American number-two hit with "Donna".

On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as "The Day the Music Died", Valens died in a plane crash in Iowa, an accident that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. Valens was 17 years old at the time of his death. His eponymous debut album was released nine days later and his second album Ritchie was released later that year in October. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame, the California Hall of Fame, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Valens was born as Richard Steven Valenzuela on May 13, 1941, in Pacoima, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. His parents were from the town of Vícam, Sonora, and were both of Yaqui indigenous ancestry, having immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. Although Valenzuela is not a Yaqui surname, many indigenous families adopted it during the Porfiriato dictatorship to avoid forcible removal from their lands, similar to the case of Fernando Valenzuela, who was of Mayo ancestry.

Valenzuela was brought up hearing traditional Mexican mariachi music, as well as flamenco guitar, R&B, and jump blues. He expressed an interest in making music of his own by the age of five. Valenzuela was encouraged by his father to take up guitar and trumpet, and later taught himself the drums. Though Valenzuela was left-handed, he was so eager to learn the guitar that he mastered the traditional right-handed version of the instrument.

Valenzuela was a 15-year-old student at Pacoima Junior High School at the time of the 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision. He was not at school that day since he was attending his grandfather's funeral. Recurring nightmares of the disaster led to Valens's fear of flying.

By the time Valenzuela was attending Pacoima Junior High School (now Pacoima Middle School), he would bring his guitar to school and sing and play songs to his friends on the bleachers. When Valenzuela was 16 years old, he was invited to join a local band, The Silhouettes (not to be confused with the group of the same name famous for its hit song "Get a Job"). Valenzuela began as a guitarist, and when the main vocalist left the group, he took over the position. On June 19, 1957, Valenzuela made his performing debut with The Silhouettes.

Valenzuela also attended San Fernando High School.