La Bamba

La Bamba tells the story of Ritchie Valens, a Mexican-American teenager in California who moves from working in the fields to becoming a rock 'n' roll star in the late 1950s. His rise is driven by his talent and by songs such as "Donna," written for his girlfriend, but it also brings tension with his jealous half-brother Bob, whose own life takes a different path. As Valens joins his first national tour, he is troubled by recurring nightmares of a plane crash.

Luis Valdez directed and wrote the film, which came early in his career as a feature director. Lou Diamond Phillips plays Valens, with Danielle von Zerneck as Donna Ludwig, Elizabeth Peña as Rosie Morales, Rosanna DeSoto as Connie Valenzuela, Esai Morales as Bob Morales and Joe Pantoliano as Bob Keane. Taylor Hackford and Bill Borden produced.

Made for about 7 million dollars and released in July 1987, the film took roughly 54 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.9 out of 10 from more than 35,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.3 from a smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.9 from 80 reviews places it broadly level with the audience scores.