La Bamba was a risky, low budget film about the tragic life of Chicano pop-star Ritchie Valens. It was the first time that the life of a migrant Mexican family living in the United States was depicted for a global audience by a Chicano storyteller.
Ahead of his time
In the 1970s, Valdez created the first Chicano play to premiere on Broadway, Zoot Suit. A story about a group of young Chicano men falsely convicted of murder in 1940s Los Angeles, that resulted in the Zoot Suit Riots.
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6487472c3695772bf665d76c/7132eba7-a6c0-40fd-818e-56618fa95178/labamba_deck2.jpg)