Ritchie Valens was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist and the first Latino rock and roll star. His famous songs include “Donna” and “La Bamba.” He was born in Richard Stephen Valenzuela in 1941 and died in a plane crash at age 17 on February 3, 1959. Valens died in the crash along with fellow rockers Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. The tragic accident went down in rock music history as “The Day the Music Died.”
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