Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.
La Bamba
Slash/Warner Bros. (1987)
Selected by Steven Ovadia
This 1987 biopic is about Ritchie Valens, the 1950s rocker who died in the plane crash which also killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson. It's a fantastic film (go see it if you haven't) for a number of reasons, but especially for the way it presents the challenges of Valens' (born Richard Valenzuela) Mexican heritage. American-born and raised, his given surname was considered problematic, and so it was anglicized for commercial purposes.
The soundtrack picks up the thread, using Los Lobos, a Mexican-American rock band that was able to build upon Valens' work and present a Latinx identity, still a relative rarity in the mainstream rock world (interestingly, Carlos Santana, another prominent Mexican-American artist also worked on the film, scored some of the music).
While representation is important, the Los Lobos tracks also happen to be fantastic music, updating Valens' beautiful work with a modern sound, but also more traditional, rootsy touches. It's a beautiful tribute to a still-underrated artist.
LISTEN & WATCH:
