Join us at the Philosophical Research Society for a screening of biopic La Bamba on the life of pioneering Mexican-American musician Ritchie Valens + panel discussion!
As part of the SEE•SOUND series, PRS’s 7th House Screenings and Grand Performances invite you to join us for a celebration of pioneering Mexican-American rock & roll icon Ritchie Valens and the upcoming premiere of Ritchie Forever, a new multidisciplinary tribute to his life, music, and enduring legacy. Commemorating what would have been Valens’ 85th birthday, this very special evening brings Luis Valdez’s landmarkLA BAMBA (1987) to the big screen, followed by an in-depth panel discussion with special guests.
Philosophical Research Society
3910 Los Feliz Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Co-presented by Hat & Beard Press and El Cine, the program honors Valens’ remarkable life and the enduring legacy of a musical career that lasted less than a year. In that astonishingly brief span, Valens, still a teenager, emerged as one of rock & roll’s first Mexican-American stars, leaving a profound mark on American popular music with songs including “Come On, Let’s Go,” “Donna,” and his electrifying rock & roll reimagining of the traditional Mexican folk song “La Bamba.” Though his life was tragically cut short at just 17, his groundbreaking bicultural voice reshaped American music in the 1950s and has resonated across generations.
Nearly three decades later, pioneering Chicano filmmaker Luis Valdez—founder of the groundbreaking Chicano theater company El Teatro Campesino and writer-director of Zoot Suit (1981)—brought Valens’ story to the screen with La Bamba, starring Lou Diamond Phillips in an electrifying breakout performance as Ritchie alongside Esai Morales as his older brother Bob. A major box-office success, La Bamba became the first Hollywood blockbuster centered on a Mexican-American family, breaking new ground for Chicano stories on the American screen while introducing Valens’ life and music to a new generation. Its soundtrack, featuring Los Lobos performing Valens’ songs, became a phenomenon in its own right, taking “La Bamba” all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. Alive with the music and exhilaration of Ritchie’s extraordinary rise, La Bamba is both an exuberant celebration of his life and an intimate family drama, capturing the complicated bonds, tensions, and sacrifices of those swept up in his sudden ascent—and the heartbreak of a life and career cut tragically short.
Following the screening, a special panel discussion will explore how Valens’ legacy as a Chicano rock & roll trailblazer continues to resonate culturally, politically, and socially, as well as the enduring impact of La Bamba and the musical and cultural lineage it helped bring to the screen. Joining the conversation will be La Bamba actor Geoff Rivas; Hector Flores, co-founder and Artistic Director of Las Cafeteras and creative director of Ritchie Forever, which makes its world premiere at Grand Performances just two days later on August 22; and Rafael Gonzalez, President and CEO of Grand Performances, with additional guests to be announced.
Learn more about The Philosophical Research Society: https://www.prs.org/