So I watched In The Heights…
In 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda shook up the world of Broadway when he brought his love letter to Washington Heights to the stage. The show won the TONY for best new musical that year and since then, his star has yet to be diminished. It shames me to say that as an avid theatre goer, I slept on the first run of In the Heights with the original cast.
By the time I made it to the Richard Rogers Theatre Miranda had already stepped away from the role of Usnavi, and in his place was Corbin Bleu (yeah, the High School Musical guy). The show was still amazing and had me feeling all types of neighborhood pride. 13 years later, the show finally made it to the big screen and it did not disappoint.
Now let’s get something clear: I am in no way a participant in the cancel culture woke mob that turns on itself and its own people when it runs out of targets to go after. So when I heard the criticism Miranda was receiving because of a “lack of diversity” in the film I thought “what in the actual fuck is happening?”. Then I heard that Miranda had to issue an apology for this and I’m thinking “why?”.
Lin-Manuel Miranda has singlehandedly changed the landscape of Broadway. Not since Jonathan Larson gave us my all time favorite show, Rent, has someone brought the reality of life in New York City to the forefront like this. Miranda’s contributions to the arts, history and culture have forever cemented his place in the canyons of creativity.
After a ridiculously long week behind us, my family and I were finally able to sit down and watch the film this past weekend and I must say, not a dry eye nor sad face graced my living room . In the Heights is a time capsule of what “un Verano en Nueva York” means to us 70’s and 80’s babies who lived through the 90’s in New York City. The film, just like the show, paints our neighborhood in the most positive light possible by purposely ignoring the violence and crime that was typical of the time.
This was a bold move which I truly appreciate because we all know what drugs and violence have done to our communities. So by preventing the negative image of Washington Heights from taking center stage, Miranda was able to paint the true picture of what the Washington Heights experience truly is: music, food, culture, family, laughter, hard work, struggles and community.
Watching this film was nostalgic for me, as a product of the neighborhood. The George Washington Bridge loomed over us like a stairway to heaven. The A train as well as the 1/9 trains were our chariots that ushered us out of the wild west and into the unknown territories known only as “downtown” (Please note, anything below 96th Street was considered downtown to us). Fast-forward to today with all of these subsections fabricated by thirsty realtors and you’re left with a false sense of identity. Hamilton Heights? Morningside Heights? Hudson Heights? Que vaina es eso? If you grew up uptown, you were from one of three places: Harlem, Dyckman or the Heights. And that’s it.
In the Heights is a reflection of the people and places that raised me. Daniela and the salon girls were Gladys y Susana from the beauty salon on 188th Street. The loud, brash and sexy ladies in tight pants and high heels making all of us youngsters salivate. Usnavi was my Don Miguel, the bodega owner on St. Nick and 192nd Street. And Rosario’s was my Riverside Car Service, the people that held me down and got me to and from all of the Saturday night parties at El Deportivo or Inwood Manor.
When I met Abuela Claudia I couldn’t help but see my own mother in her, La Negra, the matriarch of 191st Street. My mom fed, clothed and protected more homeless people, immigrant families and neighborhood hustlers than the catholic church. Washington heights is the truest and realest interpretation of the term “melting pot”, a phrase that’s so commonly thrown around when describing New York City.
Where else can you walk across one block and pass a jewish yeshiva, a Dominican doctor’s office, an Irish pub, a Greek diner, a Russian market and a Mexican taqueria? In the Heights of course. Thank you Lin-Manuel for reminding me that it is where your from just as much as it’s where you’re at.
