Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Stories Books & Cafe, Los Angeles
In the 1987 box office hit La Bamba, director Luis Valdez, considered the father of Chicano cinema, tells the story of Ritchie Valens, the first Latino rock ’n’ roll idol, whose short but influential life changed the face of music history forever. La Bamba: A Visual History, is a limited-edition book revisiting this classic 1987 film through the camera lens of Los Angeles-based photographer Merrick Morton. Hired by producer Taylor Hackford to shoot special stills (unrelated to the work of the studio’s publicity photographer), Merrick brought his experience as a documentary street photographer to the production. La Bamba was his first film; he has since earned over 90 screen credits. In addition to La Bamba, Merrick Morton has also shot on-set still photography for the cult crime classic Blood In Blood Out, Ford vs. Ferrari, Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, and the upcoming Paul Thomas Anderson film. He co-founded the Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers and the LA Six, a collective of contemporary Los Angeles street photographers.