Valenzuela

Original image courtesy www.typearts.com

Ritchie Valens didn't ALWAYS have that funky last name...the "funk" was a product of general 50's weirdness in the U.S. record industry...a Spanish sounding last name remined American Farmer's daughters of tall tales told in frontier cabins of devils in the night coming to have their way...

Anyway, Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela) WASN'T a threat to anybody who realized that his Latin rhythms merged with a kind of Rockabilly were PURE GOLD for the U.S. record industry.

I just love the music, kid. ;)

Good stuff.

ADDENDUM 4:30 PST
I'll remind people that CALIFORNIA actually boasts the most farmland of any state in the U.S., and CALIFORNIANS (including ones with Spanish-sounding names) run their farms and cattle-ranches with every bit of experience boasted by farmers further east.

ADDENDUM TUE
People sometimes misinterpret my persistent tense-of-voice as being unaware of mortality...this may be somewhat true...I played Ritchie Valens' Come On, Let's Go just yesterday thanks to the magic of subscription-music.