Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the day Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens died in an airplane crash. Of course, most of the coverage of this milestone has, does and continues to center on Buddy Holly–but most of us Mexicans/Chican@s and maybe Latin@s in general remember that day because of Richie Valens.

His legacy (especially as it was remembered by the movie, La Bamba) represents all the tensions that so many Latin@s go through–growing up in extreme poverty, dreaming of assimilation AND retaining your cultural identity, being forced continuously to admit those things can only happen to a certain degree, the tragedy of lost potential.

He died too early to be a part of the Chicano movement. But it makes me wonder how much of that movement happened because of Richie Valens. Because of a pride he brought to a community.

A Mexican and a Guitar can change the world.