Ritchie and Bob return home to discover that Rosie gave birth to a girl in their absence. He awakens the next day in a small village and is given a talisman by an old man called El Curandero to protect him from his fear of flying.
At a brothel, Ritchie sees a band performing the Mexican folk song "La Bamba". One night, Bob meets up with Ritchie, and they go to Tijuana, Mexico. He then gets the inspiration to write the song " Donna", as a tribute to her. Ritchie starts releasing his songs on the radio and becomes an overnight sensation.ĭespite his increasing fame, Ritchie's relationship with Donna suffers with her father refusing to let Ritchie see her.
#WHEN DID LITTLE NIGHTMARES 2 COME OUT PROFESSIONAL#
Keane gives Richie his professional name of "Ritchie Valens", which Richie dislikes at first, but eventually accepts it. Richie and Donna become a couple, despite Donna's father disapproving of his daughter dating a Hispanic boy, and Richie starts recording songs like " We Belong Together" and " Come On, Let's Go" at Gold Star Studios.
The next day, Bob Keane, the owner and president of Del-Fi Records in Hollywood, auditions Richie after seeing him perform at the party and signs him to his label Keane becomes his record producer and manager. However, a drunken Bob crashes the party and starts a brawl among the attendees. Richie decides to host another party and becomes The Silhouettes’ new leader after they vote out their original leader. At the party, Richie performs on his guitar, but he doesn't get his turn to sing and Donna does not attend. Richie invites Donna to a garage party where he and the Silhouettes are performing. When he learns that Rosie is pregnant, he refuses to take responsibility. Bob becomes an alcoholic and starts to abuse Rosie, shouting at her and raping her. Months later, Richie attends San Fernando High School where he falls in love with fellow student Donna Ludwig, and joins his friend Chino's band, The Silhouettes. They all decide to leave the farm and move to a house in Southern California, along with Bob's girlfriend, Rosie. One day, Richie's troubled half-brother Bob Morales arrives after being released from jail, surprising him and his mother. Richie suffers from aviophobia due to recurring nightmares about the mid-air collision that occurred directly over his school, in which his best friend was crushed to death by the fallen aircraft, an event he did not witness due to attending his grandfather's funeral. He loves music, especially rock and roll, and dreams of becoming a famous musician. His family is poor, and he works as a farmworker after school. During the Summer of 1957 in Northern California, Richard "Richie" Steven Valenzuela is a 16-year old Mexican-American boy who lives with his mother, Concepcion “Connie” Valenzuela and his younger brothers and sisters.