Ritchie Valens’ Roots

Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1987

By GREGG BARRIOS
WATSONVILLE, Calif. — “I still remember the first time we heard Ritchie sing on the
radio,” the mother of the late Latino rock ‘n’ roller Ritchie Valens recalled about that distant day, almost 30 years ago.

“I told his brother Bob, come on, let’s go to Saugus. I had some business there. I had a 1950 Olds then. The body wasn’t too good, but I paid $50 for each tire and I bought five. I pulled over to the side of the road
when ‘Come On, Let’s Go’ came on the radio. We just sat there looking at each other amazed.”

In those days, before son Ritchie became
a star, the family lived in the San Fernando Valley. Mrs. Consuelo (Connie) Valenzuela would often take her kids to the Spanish-language movies, especially to the Million Dollar Theater in downtown Los Angeles where they would see master comic Cantinflas and Mexican charro/singer Tito Guizar. “I always thought you had really arrived when a film made it to that theater,” she remembered. Continue reading →