If Ritchie Valens Hadn't Died...

[MeanOldLady]

@Aesiron

Looking up the real Ritchie Valens after reading this thread yesterday, I was first surprised to see how friggin’ OLD he looked – does this man look 17? – and was even more surprised that he didn’t look anything at all like Lou Diamond Philips. I had no idea* La Bamba* had made that strong an impression on me.

You sound like me. After seeing the movie a billion times, one day I said, “Hey, I have no idea what Ritchie Valens even looked like.” Google really surprised me with its answer. I will say all along, though, I knew he would bear no resemblance to Lou Diamond Philips. What strange casting.

[Freudian_Slit]

@MeanOldLady

You sound like me. After seeing the movie a billion times, one day I said, “Hey, I have no idea what Ritchie Valens even looked like.” Google really surprised me with its answer. I will say all along, though, I knew he would bear no resemblance to Lou Diamond Philips. What strange casting.

But…but they’re both young Hispanic guys. Are you saying there’s MORE to casting Ritchie Valens than finding another guy who’s young and Hispanic?

Next you’ll be telling me that Beyonce can’t play every famous black singer in history.

[MeanOldLady]

@Freudian_Slit

But…but they’re both young Hispanic guys. Are you saying there’s MORE to casting Ritchie Valens than finding another guy who’s young and Hispanic?

Next you’ll be telling me that Beyonce can’t play every famous black singer in history.

I know! Crazy, right? Seriously now, he’s not even Hispanic, is he? Isn’t he, like, Filipino and Native American or something? Who’s he going to play next? Frank Sinatra?

[Swallowed_My_Cellphone]

@MeanOldLady

You sound like me. After seeing the movie a billion times, one day I said, “Hey, I have no idea what Ritchie Valens even looked like.” Google really surprised me with its answer. I will say all along, though, I knew he would bear no resemblance to Lou Diamond Philips. What strange casting.

There is a line in the movie where Esai Morales says to Lou Diamond Phillips “Richie! You’re big for sixteen!” I used to think it was because they used an adult actor to play Valens, instead of a 16-year-old. But no, Valens was big for 16. Looks like he’d make a crushing football player.

@MeanOldLady

Seriously now, he’s not even Hispanic, is he? Isn’t he, like, Filipino and Native American or something?

IMDB says “Spanish, Scottish/Irish, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, and Cherokee ancestry.”

[JThunder]

Ah. So he’s the Tiger Woods of musicdom.

[Swallowed_My_Cellphone]

@JThunder

Ah. So he’s the Tiger Woods of musicdom.

Lou Diamond Philips is the Heinz 57 mix, not Valens.

[Green_Bean]

@Shot_Clock

Good question from the OP! Honestly, I don’t think Ritchie Valens would have headed very far into some kind of rock/latino hybrid, simply because the time wasn’t right for that and he would have risked becoming a novelty act.

I agree that he couldn’t have done a lot more songs like La Bamba without pigeonholing himself. I was thinking that he might have been able to mix the Latin sounds in with more mainstream rock, and thus influence the whole genre.

Good point above about being better able to speculate on where Buddy Holly might have gone if he had lived.

Thanks for the answers and discussion, everyone.

[In_Winnipeg]

@Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew

I don’t think it’s at all certain that Valens would have concentrated on the Latin side of his music. After all, although “La Bamba” is the song he is best remembered for today, at the time it was the flip side of the record, the lugubrious “Donna,” that was his standout hit.

Seems to me that this was definitely the case up until Los Lobos covered La Bamba. As to La Bamba, I recall hearing that he really caught hell from many Mexicans for rocking it up.