How appropriate is it that as I look out my window, snow is falling. Fifty years ago to this day, a small charter plane that was carrying Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson from Clear Lake, Iowa, to Fargo, N.D., crashed into a frozen cornfield. It was the day the music died, sang Don McLean in his 1972 hit “American Pie.” The three stars were at different points in their careers, but they were all young—Valens was only 17 years old!

Who would’ve guessed that a Mexican American kid from Pacoima, Calif., who grew up on Bo Diddley and Mariachi music would be the first Latino to successfully cross over into the rock mainstream? Who cares that he had to change his last name from Valenzuela to Valens? He did what he had to do, like every successful Latino I know. Carlos Santana, Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, they all have Ritchie to thank. Lou Diamond Philipps immortalized his life story in the 1987 film La Bamba, and Ritchie’s family keep his memory alive to this day. If you’re in the Boston area this coming weekend, Ritchie’s nephew, Ernie, and two others will recreate Buddy, Bopper, and Valens’ last legendary concert at the Regent Theater.

And for the record (pun intended): the music doesn’t die. It is probably one of the few things that lasts. If you need proof, here’s some: