- Born Name: Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela Reyes
- Birthday: 1941-05-13 (Year-Month-Day)
- Website: http://www.ritchievalens.com
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Ritchie Valens (born Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela Reyes; May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959) was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist.A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens recording career lasted only eight months. During this time, however, he scored several hits, most notably La Bamba, which was originally a Mexican folk song that Valens transformed with a rock rhythm and beat that became a hit in 1958, making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement.On February 3, 1959, on what has become known as The Day the Music Died, Valens was killed in a small-plane crash in Iowa, a tragedy that also claimed the lives of fellow musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. The Big Bopper Richardson. Valens was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.