Southern California post office named for Ritchie Valens

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A post office in the Pacoima section of Los Angeles was dedicated to the late rock ‘n’ roll legend Ritchie Valens in a ceremony on Friday, which would have been his 81st birthday.

Valens was born and raised in Pacoima before he became a teenage star with hits including “Donna” and “La Bamba.”

Legislation to name the post office for Valens was introduced in Congress by U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas and it was signed into law in 2019.

Valens was 17 when he was killed in a Feb. 3, 1959, plane crash along with Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and their pilot.

Valens was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

“Ritchie Valens is an example of how even when it seems like there is no path to your dream, you make your own way and build your own path,” Cardenas said in a statement.