Science on Screen
La Bamba
Screening and Presentation
Monday, April 13, 2026 | 7:00pm
Little Theatre 1 (240 East Ave.)
Doors open at 6:00pm
Standard ticket prices
Tickets available online in advance, at our box office during open hours, or at the door (if tickets remain).
The brief but incandescent life of rock-and-roll trailblazer Ritchie Valens is immortalized in this enthralling biopic from another Mexican American icon, Luis Valdez, the father of Chicano cinema. With sweetness and swagger, Lou Diamond Phillips embodies the 1950s California teenager who, forged by his fiercely supportive mother (Rosana DeSoto) and rebellious brother (Esai Morales), rises from his farm-working roots to chart-topping fame in the early days of rock—until one fateful night that haunts music history. Propelled by a hip-shaking soundtrack featuring Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, La Bamba captures the electric vitality of an artist who bridged cultures to create his own American dream.
Please join us for a presentation by Dr. Kristyn Storey following the film. (See below for details.)
Rated PG-13 | 1 hour 48 mins | Drama, Biography, Music | 1987
USA | English and Spanish
DCP | Sony Pictures Repertory
About the Presentation
“From La Bamba to ‘The Day the Music Died’: How Trauma-Driven Phobias Shape Our Lives”
Presentation by
Kristyn Storey, M.D., Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center
About the series
Science on Screen
Science on Screen® creatively pairs screenings of classic, cult, and documentary films with lively introductions by notable local figures from the world of science, technology, and medicine. Each film is used as a jumping off point for the speaker to reveal current scientific research or technological advances, providing the perfect combination of entertainment and enlightenment – even for the most science-phobic culture vulture! Browse all films in this series
An initiative of the COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE, with major support from the ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
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