Sofie Sand 7.X
Ritchie Valens
1) Ritchie Valens was a young poor boy in the edge of Los Angeles. He was very
helpful at home, and his face always carried a big smile. Ritchie wa s good at
school, but at school was not the only place he was good. With a guitar, was he
not just good, he sang like a very good professional known star. The girls
hanging around him like monkeys, because he was a very attractive guy, but he
had the 'only girl in world', named Donna. He made also a very beautiful and
touching song for her. Ritchie was also loving, sweet and nice to her. But not
just for her, he was always open and positive, for everybody he met.
2) Ritchie and Bob had a real brother relationship, as we know it. But there were a lot of
tensions between them. Bob was an alcoholic, he treated not his wife properly and he had
committed adultery. Ritchie was a good boy, not an alcoholic and he held on one girl. Bobs
life wasn’t serious, everything was about party and colors, but Ritchie’s life was serious, he
fit his school and all his life acted about singing and music. Here come the tensions, they
are like ying and yang, when it comes to live their lives. But if we ignored that, they stood
by each other's side through everything, and they loved each other.
3) Ritchie was a boy with hope and a big dream. He knew that he would be a famous star, a
day. That dream came true, when Ritchie made a concert, and a record producer saw it. He
called Ritchie some day later, and they recorded a single. The producer loved it, and
together they made a record. Ritchie was more and more known, finally was Ritchie almost
known in all countries, and he made many concert everywhere. We could all learn a thing
of Ritchie, he never give up, and he followed his dream to the last. He was always positive
Sofie Sand 7.X
about everything, and there was not anyone there could stop him. Ritchie was also a good
example, that dreams can come true, if you really believe on them.
4) Ritchie family did the right: they always believed him. Ritchie's mother rented a room, to
his first concert, the money she used, was to the next rent. Bob made the posters, to the
city, and he brings them out with his rocker friends. Rosie helped with the decoration and
the clothes. Bob was an obstacle: he destroyed Ritchie's first concert, because he was
drunk. Money was also an obstacle, if they had money, they could buy Ritchie some new
and better instruments, and they could travel to LA for example, so Ritchie could be seen
and heard. The band Ritchie played in, was an obstacle, they would let him sing, only
playing guitar.
5) Ritchie's best friend died of an airplane. Two airplanes crashed, and they hit him. Ritchie
should have been there, but he was to funeral. His grandfather's dead saved Ritchie's life. If
he had been there, he had been dead.
6) When Donna and Ritchie talked together, when her father came. He asked Donna about,
Ritchie was from Mexico, because he looked like a colored one, and he doesn’t like colored
people. After that, Donna's father gave not allowed to see Ritchie again. Before Ritchie was
famous, the record producer changed Ritchie's name to Ritchie Valens, before that, his
name was Richard Steven Valenzuela. If he not changed that, he could not be a star,
because Ritchie’s name wasn't an American name.
7) Yes, I think Ritchie is a music legend, because when he died, we called the day: 'The day
the music died'. And because he started as an amateur, and on short time he being one of
the biggest in 1950's. To become a music legend, you must could do, what you do, which is
to sing. You must could do something special for example: have a special voice, have
special costumes, special dance on scene etc. A thing we can remember you on.
Michael Jackson: 'The king of pop', Elvis Presley: 'The king of rock and roll', Tina Turner,
Freddie Mercury, Madonna, Whitney Houston etc. There are a lot of music legends.