In The Heights

by Aprille Hanson-Spivey

Photo: Warner Bros.

Director: Jon M. Chu 
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera & Leslie Grace 
Rated: PG-13
​Runtime: 2 hours & 23 minutes 

As the broken immigration system is fiercely debated in political circles, social media and at the family dinner table, there’s no better time for a film like “In the Heights.” A love-letter to the Latino community, the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical turned summer smash hit is all about being seen. Sure, the movie is a spectacle in itself. It’s absolutely mesmerizing -- the bright colors, the intricate dance numbers, crystal clear vocals and the hip lyrics that only Miranda can write. It’s easy to get lost in the beauty, but the message is what’s most important. 

I couldn’t help but imagine how powerful this movie must be for every Latino watching. Just having that representation on the screen through the actors that highlighted the best of the culture -- hard work ethic, love of family, along with sacrifice and struggle -- is something rare and beautiful. 

Inspired by his childhood, Miranda, whose family emigrated from Puerto Rico to New York, made a film that didn’t gloss over real-life struggles, but made the story focus on the celebration of Latin culture. Along with director Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) at the helm, it’s a near-perfect movie. 

The story follows Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a bodega owner in the Washington Heights neighborhood in northern Manhattan. While it’s never clear how his father died, Usnavi wants to recreate the happiness of his childhood and buys his father’s bar El Suenito on the beach of the Dominican Republic that needs serious TLC after a tropical storm destroyed it. The film opens with him on a beach, presumably at that bar, telling his story to a group of children. 

The story is told in flashbacks with a cast of characters each running down their own dreams, searching for their own “El Suenito” while battling both subtle and glaring injustices because of their ethnicity.  

Usnavi’s love interest, Vanessa, is a beautician who wants to be a fashion designer, desperate to get out of the Heights while hitting roadblocks, including being passed over for her rental application due to being Latino. Her current job at the beauty salon is heading to the Bronx as owner Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) is set to move, along with fellow beauticians Carla (Stephanie Beatriz) and Cuca (Dascha Polanco). The trio are an absolute delight, particularly in the salon number, “No Me Diga.”

The intelligent and beautiful college student Nina Rosario (Leslie Grace) is back in town from Stanford, the pride and joy of the neighborhood, the one to make it out. But the lack of community in college and racial bias make her want to drop out, haunted by her former little girl-self who wanted to make everyone proud. Meanwhile, she picks right back up with ex-love Benny (Corey Hawkins), who works for her father, prominent business owner Kevin Rosario (Jimmy Smits) at the dispatch company. Kevin, a hard-working immigrant father, will do anything to keep his daughter’s dreams of education alive, even if it means selling his business. 

Even though she’s about to give up, the teenage Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV), who works at Usnavi’s bodega, inspires her to fight for the undocumented just like him, to change the system. 

The glue holding the community together is the elderly Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), originally from Cuba. 

Usnavi wants nothing more than to go to the Dominican Republic with Sonny and Abuela Claudia, so, like most in the neighborhood, hopes to win the lottery. Each character goes on a journey, feeling the intense heat from both the summer during a blackout and the reality that the dreams they want are not always what they need. 

There are the extravagant moments, the most fun being the cast singing “96,000” in the water and poolside, hoping they hit that winning jackpot. The heartwarming moments, a family dinner with Abuela Claudia and the mesmerizing moments, most notably Nina and Benny dancing on the side of the apartment building. Abuela Claudia flashing back to when she came to the United States is both powerful and heartbreaking in “Paciencia Y Fe.” Miranda’s cameo as a street cart worker was a nice touch, along with subtle and not-so-subtle odes to his cultural phenomenon “Hamilton.” 

Miranda and Chu have weaved a tale of triumph with sprinkles of hardship. They never minimize the issues, but the characters are not defined by them. Each one finds their El Suenito and that’s what matters most. It’s a musical for this moment in time and this generation and will undoubtedly be remembered as a classic.