Ritchie Valens Dies in Iowa Plane Crash

Ritchie Valens,

Pacoima’s favorite son and America’s first Latino rock star, died in the Iowa plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and J.P. (“the Big Bopper”) Richardson. Valens was 17. He made his first records the year before his death. His single “C’mon, Let’s Go” reached No. 42 on the national charts in 1958. He followed it up with “Donna,” written for Donna Ludwig, a girlfriend at San

Fernando High School. On the flip side of “Donna” was “La Bamba,” Valens’ electrified

version of a Mexican folk song. Both “Donna” and “La Bamba” became classics of ‘50s rock. When Valens, born Richard

Valenzuela, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, more than 700 people packed Pacoima’s Ritchie Valens Recreation Center to celebrate.