Bob morales and rosie kids
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INTERLAKEN – Bob Morales followed his own rules, of which he had a few: Men should show affection, for example.
Morales, who called Watsonville home, was known globally as Ritchie Valens’ hardened older brother, or La Bamba Bob, as he became known for a tough-guy portrayal in the 1987 hit biopic “La Bamba.”
Morales embodied his gritty reputation. He smoked pot every day of adulthood and wore a mohawk with pride when he died Saturday night at 81.
“We knew this day would come,” said Bly Olivia Morales, 39, his daughter.
Morales was with his wife, Joanie, when he died about 9 p.m. at his family home.
“He was a benefit-of-the-doubt kind of guy,” Joanie Morales said.
“He always told people, ‘Always tell the people you care about that you love them because you might not know when you will see them again,’” Joanie Morales said. “He told me every single day, ‘Somebody asks me about my brother.’”
Valens was 17 when he was in a plane crash Feb. 3, 1959, with musicians Buddy Holly and the B
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Bob
Bob was born in Los Angeles and he and Mama had a special love for each other that neither time nor circumstances could change.
Bob also had a special connection to Ritchie in that they were both driven people; one by life and one by music. Bob was asked about the way he was portrayed in the movie, La Bamba, and after thinking for a moment, he said, “They made me look good.” Bob and his wife Joanie make their home on the central coast of California. Bob is still in touch with Luis Valdez, the screenwriter and director of La Bamba.
His many passions include his children and grandchildren and, yes, he still rides his motorcycle.
Bob has family ties, through his granddaughter, with the band, Los Lonely Boys, and he attends many of their concerts.
Today, Bob is an icon in his own right and to many he is known as La Bamba Bob. He makes personal appearances from time to time and has enjoyed being included in several car and biker magazines.
Thank you to family friend Peterson David
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By Dalia Espinosa, Correspondent
Bob Morales, the older brother of rock legend Ritchie Valens, and who made a name for himself from Pacoima to Northern California during his own turbulent past, died Saturday night in his Central Coast home after battling prostate cancer. He was 81.
Many might remember Morales as portrayed by actor Esai Morales — no relation — in the 1987 film “La Bamba,” the biopic about Valens’ life. Morales was the rugged, mustached man who proudly rode his motorcycle and sported a tough, leather-jacket-clad exterior.
“Farewell, my big brother. You gave me so much to work with and be grateful for…,” Esai Morales posted on Facebook, with a photo of his muse sporting a Mohawk haircut and standing next to a motorcycle, a symbol of the gritty life he led.
Bob Morales was, indeed, a kind of wild child, according to his family, whose life took a hard turn on Feb. 3, 1959, when an Iowa plane crash claimed Ritchie’s 17-year-old life.
It was the same crash that killed rock stars Buddy Holly and J. P. “Th
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