Fun fact: The Ritchie Valens music you hear in 1987 film biopic La Bamba are covers of his tunes as recorded by Los Lobos. It wasn’t just the film’s title track, which jetted East LA’s most prodigious Chicano rock band to the top of the charts in both the US and the UK. It’s why the music sound so vibrant and alive and… present, lacking that 1950s vintage gossamer. They've also done some other film work, most notably with Robert Rodriguez on the Desperado soundtrack.

Los Lobos formed in 1973 and have released upwards of 20 albums in their venerable career. They mix elements of Tex-Mex and traditional Latin music with rock, country, folk, R&B, blues, and soul, as driven by multi-instrumental frontman David Hidalgo (his main instrument is ax, but he also juggles accordion, fiddle, bajo sexto, and requinto jarocho, among others) and singer-guitarist dark-sunglasses-wearing Cesar Rosas. Live, they’ve been known to cover artists ranging from Grateful Dead to Howlin’ Wolf to the obligatory Valens nod.

You’re bound to hear aplenty during their four-night Seattle run, which kicks off tonight at the Triple Door, though there's a good chance you know more of their original material than you might think. Or maybe you know nothing. Get learned—some of it along with Los Lobos-stamped covers below.