Ritchie Valens’ family says new biography tells ‘the real story’

Ritchie Valens was rescued from obscurity by a 1987 movie, “La Bamba,” that finally put the Southern California teen’s story ahead of Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, the two older singers who died in the same Feb. 3, 1959 plane crash.

The movie became a cultural touchstone. Books about Valens, though, have been scarce.

The only biography was 1987’s “Ritchie Valens, the First Latino Rocker” by Beverly Mendheim, who struggled to turn her research into a narrative.

Since then...