The Mexican-American band, Los Lobos, (originally named Los Lobos Del Este Los Angeles) was formed in 1974 by high school friends David Hidalgo, Conrad Lozano, Louis Perez, and Caesar Rosas. In 1984 saxophonist Steve Berlin left his band, the Blasters, to join the original four as the only non-Chicano member. In 1987, with the release of their first single hit "La Bamba," a cover of the Ritchie Valens classic of the same name, the band was catapulted into the mainstream popular music scene. As a primarily Mexican-American group which has achieved widespread recognition, the band serves as a cultural icon to its multicultural listeners. And like the few other East Los Angeles musicians such as Lalo Guerrero and Valens, who have surmounted economic and social adversity to achieve fame, they serve as role models to other Chicanos who may fear that their attempts to escape from poverty will be...