Angel Baby: To Rosie, With Love, the upcoming documentary film exploring the life, music, and lasting legacy of Rosie Hamlin of Rosie and the Originals.
Produced by the team of El Filmero Productions (Soul Searchin’) and 3res Vinos Films (The Sunkings), the documentary is currently in production, with interviews already underway featuring Rosie’s former bandmates, family members, and others connected to her story.
Through these personal accounts, archival materials, reenactments and Rosie’s enduring music and personal diary entries, the film will honor the voice behind “Angel Baby” and share her story with new generations.
Rosie’s story
Rosie Hamlin was the teenage singer and songwriter behind the 1960 classic “Angel Baby,” a song she first wrote as a poem to her high school crush and later recorded with Rosie and the Originals when she was only 15 years old. Her unforgettable voice helped turn the song into a beloved oldies anthem, especially within Chicano, Latino, and lowrider communities. More than six decades later, “Angel Baby” continues to reach new generations and has been covered by legendary artists including John Lennon and Linda Ronstadt.
Preserving Rosie Hamlin’s Legacy
Rosie Hamlin’s story deserves to be told because her voice, songwriting, and legacy helped shape a song that continues to live across generations. As a young Mexican American artist, Rosie wrote “Angel Baby” from a deeply personal place, only to later face a long battle over author rights and recognition for the music she created. Despite those struggles, the song never disappeared and it continues to resonate until this day. The song has been covered many times by artists across different genres, showing the emotional reach of Rosie’s songwriting. Rosie also became a trailblazer as the first Latina to appear on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and the first Latina artist honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame through its One-Hit Wonders exhibit. Angel Baby: To Rosie, With Love seeks to honor Rosie’s truth, preserve her legacy, and introduce her story to those who may know the song but not the young woman behind it.
The Team
Angel Baby: To Rosie, With Love is being produced by the independent teams of El Filmero Productions and 3res Vinos Films.
El Filmero Productions has produced award-winning soul music documentaries including Souleros (2022) and Soul Searchin’ (2025), and is currently producing the short documentary Soul Built This (2026) on legendary soul producer George Kerr, known for his work on songs such as The Escorts’ “Look Over Your Shoulder” and Linda Jones’ “Hypnotized.” El Filmero Productions is deeply committed to telling compelling stories rooted in music, culture, memory, and the communities that keep these histories alive.
3res Vinos Films is the company behind the documentary The Soul of Lincoln Heights (2019) Residents (2026), an ensemble dramedy set within East L.A.'s underground DJ scene and the YouTube series The Sunkings (2026), now filming its second season. 3res Vinos Films creates films and series that resonate deeply, reflecting the heartbeat of underrepresented voices and the cultural stories that deserve to be seen and heard.
Together, El Filmero Productions and 3res Vinos Films bring their shared passion for music history, cultural preservation, and independent storytelling to Angel Baby: To Rosie, With Love.
Ruben Molina
Ruben Molina is a respected music historian, author, DJ, and soul record collector whose work has helped document and preserve the history of Chicano soul and lowrider oldies culture.
He is the author of The Old Barrio Guide to Low Rider Music, Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of an American Culture and The Dreamy Side: Rythym & blues and Chicano culture in 1950s Los Angeles. His expertise has contributed to documentaries and cultural projects including PBS’s Chicano Rock, the Smithsonian’s American Sabor exhibition, and the documentary series Latin Music U.S.A. As co-founder of The Southern Soul Spinners, Molina continues to share his rare record collection with audiences around the world, DJing internationally and helping keep the legacy of Chicano soul alive.
Jesus Cruz
Jesus Cruz is an independent filmmaker from the San Francisco Bay Area whose work explores music, Chicano subcultures, cultural history, and community driven stories. He began his career working for local television stations, where he used his bilingual background to produce original content for Latino audiences. His wide ranging interests have also led him to produce and edit documentaries on professional wrestling, Lucha Libre, tattoo artists, and other overlooked cultural communities. In 2022, he directed and produced Souleros, a short documentary about Bay Area rare soul record collectors that won Best Short Documentary at the Lone Star Film Festival and screened at film festivals across the United States.
Cruz later co-produced and co-directed the award-winning feature documentary Soul Searchin’, which received a strong audience response through screenings and festival appearances across the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, The Netherlands, and Australia.
David Treviño
David A. Treviño is a Los Angeles–based writer and director whose work explores culture, identity, resilience, and human connection. A veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, he served in the U.S. Air Force before working as a private contractor in Afghanistan. After studying film at UNLV, Treviño developed a cinematic voice rooted in authenticity and lived experience. His feature documentary Soul of Lincoln Heights celebrated the history, resilience, and cultural identity of the Los Angeles community through its connection to vinyl records and music.
Treviño’s work spans documentary, narrative, and serialized storytelling, including The Sunkings, co-created with cultural historian Ruben Molina, as well as Residents and Sacrifice.
Alex Vigano
Alex Vigano is a San Francisco Bay Area filmmaker with more than 25 years of experience across documentary and narrative projects. His body of work includes the comedy web series Yo Mama, the short documentary Souleros, and the feature-length films Mind’s Eye and The Big Fish. He also co-produced and co-directed the award-winning feature documentary Soul Searchin’, which explores rare soul record collecting, cultural preservation, and the communities dedicated to keeping overlooked music alive.
In addition to filmmaking, Vigano is a musician with the Bay Area band The Dirty Skies, reflecting his longstanding connection to music and creative culture. He also supports the next generation of filmmakers as an instructor in the Film Department at Ohlone College in Fremont, California, bringing decades of professional production experience into the classroom.
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