Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2017) “La Bamba” (pronounced [la ˈβamba]) is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens, a top 40 hit in the U.S. charts and one of early rock and roll’s best-known songs.
When “La Bamba” premiered in the summer of 1987, the expectations for its success were low. The film was based on the life of Ritchie Valens, the Mexican-American teenager (birth name: Richard Steven Valenzuela) who was one of the first Latinos in rock ’n’ roll.
La Bamba is the story of Ritchie Valens and how he came to be a star. His life was never entirely perfect but he did manage to live the good life once he got famous. He had a very severe fear of flying however since he’d had a dream once that he was killed in a mid-air collision.
Valens’ version of “La Bamba” is ranked number 354 on Rolling Stone magazine′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Who pitched the idea for Ritchie Valens?
Colombia Pictures / Via youtube.com. It was actually Luis Valdez’s brother, actor/musician/producer Daniel Valdez and Taylor Hackford who first pitched the idea.
Daniel Valdez had thought about putting Ritchie Valens’ story on the stage as a musical. Colombia Pictures / Via youtube.com. 19. He also spent five to six years researching Valens’ life, from collecting articles to tracking down the Valenzuela family, who were extremely wary at first about the project.
The debris crashed into the schoolyard of Pacoima Junior High School, which ultimately killed 8 people, and injured 75 others. Most of the victims were school children.
Esai Morales had originally auditioned for the role of Ritchie Valens, while Lou Diamond Phillips had auditioned for the darker role of Bob. Colombia Pictures / Via youtube.com. The director’s brother, Daniel Valdez, who was also an associate producer, recommended Phillips for the role of Ritchie. 7.
In the original script, Ritchie’s older brother Bob was the lead of the film. 9. Even though Lou Diamond Phillips played Esai Morales’ younger brother in the film, he was actually the older of the two. Morales was 23, and Phillips was 24.
Ritchie was not at school that day, as he was at his grandfather’s funeral. 5. Ritchie’s real-life mother, Concepcion Reyes, appeared in the film during the first family party.
Despite the mainstream, global appeal of the song “La Bamba,” Los Lobos for a time “didn’t totally enjoy bringing it out at concerts.”. Colombia Pictures / Via youtube.com. 14. According to Lou Diamond Phillips, the family was on-set everyday and they constantly referred to him as “Ritchie.”.
Where did La Bamba originate?
Traditional versions. “La Bamba is a classic example of the son jarocho musical style, which originated in the Mexican state of Veracruz and combines Spanish, indigenous, and African musical elements. The song is typically played on one or two arpa jarochas (harps) along with guitar relatives the jarana jarocha and the requinto jarocho.
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Trini Lopez performed his own version of ” La Bamba ” on his album Trini Lopez Live at PJs, released in 1963; this recording of the tune was later reissued as a single in 1966. Also in 1963, Glen Campbell recorded the song on his album The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell.
The “arriba” (literally “up”) part of the song suggests the nature of the dance, in which the footwork, called “zapateado”, is done faster and faster as the music tempo accelerates. A repeated lyric is “Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán”, meaning “I am not a sailor, I am the captain”; Veracruz is a maritime locale.
The name of the dance, which has no direct English translation, is presumably connected with the Spanish verb “bambolear”, meaning “to sway”, “to shake” or “to wobble”. Or the name may perhaps be derived from the Kimbundu word “mbamba” meaning “master” as in someone who does something adeptly or skillfully.
The song ranked No. 98 in VH1 ‘s 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll in 1999, and No. 59 in VH1’s 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000. Furthermore, Valens’ recording of the song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame.
Although an obscure and possibly non-existent 1908 Mexican recording has been cited, the earliest certain recording of the song is that by Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, credited as El Jarocho, which was released on the Victor label in Mexico in about 1939 (Victor 76102).
The music video for Los Lobos’ version, directed by Sherman Halsey, won the 1988 MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film. It featured Lou Diamond Phillips (who played Valens in the film named after the song ).
What is the movie La Bamba based on?
When “La Bamba” premiered in the summer of 1987, the expectations for its success were low. The film was based on the life of Ritchie Valens, the Mexican-American teenager (birth name: Richard Steven Valenzuela) who was one of the first Latinos in rock ’n’ roll.
An early article in The Los Angeles Times paraphrased marketing specialists who privately feared that “La Bamba” — written and directed by a Latino playwright, Luis Valdez, and starring an unknown actor of Filipino descent, Lou Diamond Phillips — would fall “fatally short” of expectations and would “sour” Hollywood on other films about Latinos.
Valens died in 1959, just a year after being signed to Del-Fi Records, in a plane crash that also killed two other stars, Buddy Holly and J.P. Richardson, better known as the Big Bopper.
Phillips as Ritchie Valens in the 1987 biopic.
In the late ’90s, you said you were going to start working on a sequel to “La Bamba” that would follow Ritchie’s brother, Bob. What happened to that project?
VALDEZ It feels both good and bad, in a way. It’s good that the movie is relevant, that it’s up-to-date and that people can enjoy it because of what it is. At the same time, there should be dozens of movies like “La Bamba” representing the Latino experience.
Valdez added, “In that sense then, ‘La Bamba’ is unique and fresh because not very much has been around to compete with it.”. With “La Bamba” playing on HBO Max and making a brief return to theaters, Valdez reunited with Phillips to discuss the film, and its impact, 34 years later.
