# La Bamba guitar solo > The guitar solo on La Bamba by Ritchie Valens (1958) starts at about 1:03. Watch from the solo, with tab and lesson links. Canonical URL: Ritchie Valens, 1958. Solo by *Ritchie Valens*. A Mexican folk song turned into rock and roll, with a short, bright guitar break by Valens. La Bamba turns a Mexican folk song into rock and roll, and Ritchie Valens' short, bright guitar break is a key part of its charm. His playing is simple and direct, using quick, rhythmic phrases that echo the song's lively melody. The break is brief but energetic, adding a burst of excitement before the vocal returns. It helped open rock and roll to Latin influences and remains one of the most recognisable early rock guitar moments. Listen for how Valens keeps his lines tightly locked to the rhythm, and how he uses repetition and slight variations to give the short solo a catchy, memorable shape. La Bamba by Ritchie Valens is featured in our Latin Rock (#17) list. The solo is played by Ritchie Valens and the song was released in 1958. ## In our lists - [The 25 Greatest Latin Rock Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/latin-rock/) — #17 - [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1958](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1958/) — #8 ## Sources ### Who played the guitar solo on La Bamba? Ritchie Valens played the solo on Ritchie Valens's La Bamba (1958). --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)