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Dear Latinx community living in the United States, while sitting down waiting for In the Heights movie to start, take a deep breath and prepare yourself to take an emotional walk to memory lane. Although Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical comes to the screen as a film packed with culture and Latin rhythm, it is inevitable to shed a tear — or two.
The movie is magical in all sense of the word. When watching, those immigrants who left their countries behind, and arrived at the so-called “land of the free” prepared to work their way up from the bottom, might experience like if their astral body detaches itself from the physical body and travels to every single moment that shaped their journey until present times.
When watching, Hispanic and Latinx viewers that are third, second, or first-generation American, will realize they have another reason to thank their parents or grandparents for risking it all and move to a nation in search of better opportunities for the family.
And the rest of the viewers, who might not know much about the Caribbean and Latin America and its people, Spanish language, customs, and traditions, In the Heights is and will be forever the cultural lesson you wished you had in school.
Whether it is through the lyrics of the music repertoire, the dialogue, or what’s just happening in general, In the Heights, which is an adaptation of Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony-winning Broadway show, is a constant reminder that just because you are living away from your homeland, you shouldn’t celebrate it.
The film is so relatable that even if you are a “Chile-Domini-Curican” from Queens or Japanese-American, you’ll come to the conclusion that although our DNA might be different, we all have a sueñito (little dream) that fuels us and keeps us moving forward.
The 2021 American musical drama film directed by Jon M. Chu stars Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, singer/songwriter Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, singer Marc Anthony, and Jimmy Smits.
The plot tells the story of a Dominican New York City-based bodega owner who hopes for a better life, not knowing that what makes his life better is the loving community around him.
Slated to open on June 11, 2021, in theaters and on HBO Max, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from the theatrical release.