In the 1987 hit La Bamba, director Luis Valdez, considered the father of Chicano cinema, tells the story of Ritchie Valens, the first Latino rock and roll idol, whose short but influential life changed music history. This limited-edition book revisits the film through the camera of the Los Angeles photographer Merrick Morton, hired by the producer Taylor Hackford to shoot special stills unrelated to the studio's publicity photographer; La Bamba was Morton's first film, and he brought the experience of a documentary street photographer to the production. Working from his archive and original contact sheets, which hold over 2,500 images, the book teases out a selection of intimate, never-before-seen photographs of rehearsals, a recording session and a campfire gathering, illustrating why this exploration of family and culture remains so beloved. Carlos Aguilar contributes an essay on the making of the film, with interviews with Valdez, Hackford and the cast, including Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales and Rosana DeSoto, and RJ Smith writes the introduction, framing Valens's story within the rock and roll canon. It is the fourth book in the publisher's series of deep dives into singular films with outsized cultural impact.