La Bamba
Teenage rocker Ritchie Valens fights jealous family ties and his own haunting premonitions as he races to turn a love ballad into a national hit before destiny catches up with him.
“Born into poverty. Destined for stardom. He lived the American dream.”
Synopsis
In 1958, Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens achieves sudden rock 'n' roll success with the love ballad "Donna," a song he wrote for his girlfriend. As his fame grows, Valens faces tension with his jealous older brother, Bob, and experiences a recurring nightmare about a plane crash just as he embarks on his first national tour with Buddy Holly.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 57+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Don BrochuShot by Adam GreenbergScored by Miles GoodmanDesigned by Vincent Joseph Cresciman
Box Office
1987 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 8.3× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$54.2M
Opening weekend: $5.7M — 10% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $9.2M — 17% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1,251 theaters
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Cast & Crew
57 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Lou Diamond Phillips
as Ritchie Valens
Esai Morales
as Bob Morales
Danielle Von Zerneck
as Donna Ludwig
Rosanna Desoto
as Connie Valenzuela
Elizabeth Pena
as Rosie Morales
Joe Pantoliano
as Bob Keane
Rick Dees
as Ted Quillin
Marshall Crenshaw
as Buddy Holly
Brian Setzer
as Eddie Cochran
Howard Huntsberry
as Jackie Wilson
Daniel Valdez
as Lelo
Felipe Cantu
as Curandero
Supporting cast
35Eddie Frias
as Chino
Mike Moroff
as Mexican Ed
Geoffrey Rivas
as Rudy
Sam Anderson
as Mr. Ludwig
Maggie Gwinn
as Mrs. Ludwig
Jeffrey Alan Chandler
as Alan Freed
Stephen Lee
as Big Bopper
John Quade
as Bartender
Lettie Ibarra
as Vera
Diane Rodriguez
as Ernestine
Katie Valdez
as Connie Jr.
Gloria Balcorta
as Irma
Ernesto Hernandez
as Garbage Man
Noble Willingham
as Howard
Thom Pintello
as Sound Engineer
Stephen F Schmidt
as Tommy Allsup
Rosanna Locke
as Sharon Sheeley
Kim Sebastian
as Donna's Girlfriend
Dyana Ortelli
as Rosalinda
Andy Griggs
as Mr. House
Art K Koustik
as Trucker
Tony Genaro
as Mr. Caballero
Allison Robinson
as Girl at Party
Hunter Payne
as Baseball Announcer
Joe Miller
as Student
Mary Ann Tanedo
as Student
Barb Jittner
as Student
Brian Russell
as Student
Yolanda Martinez Olivarri
as Tall Blonde Girl on Motorcycle
Frank Aragon
as Student
Linda Holdahl
as Dancer
Thomas Rosales Jr
as Man at Party
Matthew Shields
as Dancer
Reynaldo Silva
as Student
Connie Valenzuela
as Elderly Lady at Party
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
2Other crew
7Parents Guide
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