Ritchie Valens was a 17-year-old from Pacoima, California, when he took a traditional Mexican wedding dance song and turned it into a celebrated rock anthem. La Bamba had existed at least since the 1800s as a son jarocho song from Veracruz, but Valens rearranged it entirely, adapting it for electric guitar, adding a driving rock-and-roll rhythm, and trimming it down to a tight 2-minute single. He did not speak fluent Spanish, so he memorized the lyrics phonetically. It was the first time traditional Mexican folk music was synthesized with American rock, a radical act of cultural fusion at the time.

Ritchie Valens, “La Bamba,” traditional song adapted by Ritchie Valens, 1958.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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