Disclaimer: I am Washington Heights. Born, bred, and raised before it was a showtune in Lin Manuel Miranda’s voice recorder. He has definitely put our neighborhood in the spotlight but Washington Heights was amazing before the mid-west came to discover it. Understandably, this review will be biased based on the fact that Washington Heights is my home; so my overall review will be “I love it!” along with the “99% Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.com. But honestly, I also put my “I love it” stamp on the mediocre “Washington Heights” 2002 move, the failed “Washington Heights” MTV series in 2013 and any other movie that featured my neighborhood. These versions were not great but… I mean, come on… I am an Afro-Caribbean, Dominican-American from Washington Heights! I am constantly looking to connect to my home now that I live in the Bay Area! Just like any other individual who is proud of where they come from, I will support “In The Heights” even if it bombed in the box office. People who love their neighborhoods like I love mine understand this; it is a foundation of loyalty learned through your roots. And mine are in Washington Heights NYC! I love my ‘hood!
What I felt during the opening scene and musical number at the beginning of “In The Heights” summarize my review : Extreme joy with splashes of sadness. Literally filmed on the streets of where I lived and grew up for 40 years of my life, I felt the nostalgia flowing through my veins. Just as energetic and exhilarating as the dance number was, I felt over-joyed. I saw my ‘hood on the big screen! But when the screen shifted into the bodega, I could not help but notice some of the elements I remembered were gone. Granted, the store had some important “traditional” trimmings of the classic bodega I grew up around (the narrow aisles, Bustello coffee cans behind the counter, Vicks Vapor rub, etc.), but I could not help but notice some other elements were missing. Where was the ‘chicharron’ made fresh that morning next to the casaba and ‘pastelitos’? Where is the fridge dedicated to the beers that are “bestida de novia”? Where are the milk crates that were used to sit out when in front of the store? WHERE’S THE CAT SLEEPING ON THE BREAD?! Come on son… It was apparent that my generation was not going to be represented in this movie. I cried during the scene; overwhelmed with an exhilarating sense of joy, but at the same time shedding a tear for a story that was not going to be told in this movie. I get it, trust me. I’m old school and my generations experience is not what this movie is about. And in my humble opinion, this version of Washington Heights was a better story to tell. ‘Que dilema caballero’!
Washington Heights is a main character in this movie, no doubt. I love that. The sights and sounds definitely connect to the overall feeling of what a neighborhood in NYC should be. No offense to other neighborhoods in the five boroughs, but Washington Heights has enough character to be the star of a big screen Hollywood movie; it made sense. It is a neighborhood rich in history, diversity and culture; and the movie definitely made use of it. Most scenes took place on 175th Street and Audubon Ave. which would be familiar to anyone who grew up in the Heights. The Church of the Incarnation and Incarnation Elementary/Middle school (which I attended most of my youth) is on the block and you can see in most of the movie. Not only did I play many ‘curb ball’ games, ‘skelly’ tournaments, ‘catch and kiss’ run arounds on that street; But I also remembered seeing Robert “The Preppie Killer” Chambers alongside our parish’s Monsignor walking into the side entrance of the school to protect him from the media. I also saw the ‘spot’ on the corner where my family member almost lost their life to a bad drug deal. Again, a piece of my generation’s youth dominated my attention and I slowly began to realize that our tales will not be featured. Similar feelings of memories over content came in at the Highbridge Pool and J. Hood Wright Park scene, very historic locations to the Washington Height’s native with similar memories embedded in them. As I watched the film with a child hood friend, we kept randomly shouting out,“ YOOOOO!!!!!! Check that shit out son! Remember we used to….” constantly at the screen. We could not help it, the neighborhood is part of us and we had to let it out what we remembered, it was inevitable. I would say, I finally succumbed to the inevitable and surrendered to the films narrative mid-way through the film. I accepted that it would not be my generation’s story. If I had to summarize this feeling with a character from the movie, it would be Marc Antony’s character Gapo. A character that you know is a preamble to a story, but not necessary to expand on. Coño…
Joy and sadness.
I’ll give it to Lin Manuel Miranda and John M. Chu’s vision for this Broadway play on the big screen. Representation did not lack! The cast was diverse and gave me a sense of still being seen by the world. Some would argue that the film primarily focused on Afro-Caribbean Latinos, but I’ll leave that for the passive aggressive bloggers of the world to debate (I swear you can racialize anything nowadays, but hey….This is America.) When I saw the original production on Broadway in 2008, I felt jubilant and proud. Seeing the cast of characters and be amazed the majority of them looked like ‘me’, you could not top that. In 2021, I felt the same jolt of pride and enthusiasm as I did when I first saw the play. This time around, I did feel that the story lines of gentrification, 1st generation immigrants, urban renewal and the Dreamers stood out a lot stronger that its’ original content. (As they should since film and stage are 2 totally different expressions.) Dare I say the small re-writes in the film should be included in the on-stage musical! (Go Usnavi and Vanessa! Mr. Softee vs. Priaguero!) When I regained focus and got out of ‘this ain’t about me’ mentality, I connected and it was good.
I enjoyed the music from beginning to end. That is Lin Manuel niche’ so to speak. Sure, he writes musicals but do not forget where his foundations lay in his ability to create catchy, sounds for the soul. All Latin rhythms are felt throughout the movie; “Carnival Del Barrio” being my favorite captures the culture and spirit of his unique ability to connect pride and music. Also, all elements of hip-hop are present. I would not expect any less from a kid from the Heights (and a cousin to the amazing lyricist ‘Residente’)! The song “96,000” captures his homage to favorite hip-hop artist past and present. And just to add more roses to his bunch, Washington Heights is rooted in the history of hip-hop as any enthusiast would tell you. Lin-Manuel is touched by the hip-hop gods of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue just like any kid in the Heights should have been, even if he did grow up on the ‘affluent’ side of the ‘hood’.
Overall, the movie goes down in the history books as ‘one of the best movies’ of the year. Do I see it winning any ‘major’ award? Maybe, mostly for music but….been there, done that. Honestly, in this day and age…does it really matter? This film is an homage to diversity, culture and the everyday people of color that are not seen in the realm of Hollywood. It is not the “Scarface”, “Boys in The Hood” and “Blood in, Blood Out” that are glorified in our realms and almost change our narrative as being ‘real’. Instead, this movie projects a perspective of optimism and discards the stereotypes that have type casted black and brown people for years in the industry. It showcases the problems and struggles with gentrification and how a community of people change with it. It tells a story of the generations which eat the fruits of our predecessor’s labor and not like it, so they plant their own. It also shows that education is an important tool to contribute to progress and it does not have to come from a degree or diploma. This movie shows what we as people of color do in this country every day; day in and day out:
Survive. With all our heart and souls. And we do not need to change who we are as a people.
This movie is relatable to all who understand that. I am just really happy and grateful that my ‘ hood was the place where this story was told. “In The Heights” is now part of history whether it fails or succeeds in the box office, whether it tells ‘my” version of the neighborhood or not; whether you like it or not. In my opinion, this movie is now a welcomed part of our diaspora of Latinos. It is a piece of art that will influence generations to come. The story of hope and optimism in a world that sets up social constructs which can be torn down. “In The Heights” shows us our hoods are as beautiful as WE make them. Our ‘hoods’ are not always as bad as society makes it out to be; we should sound our ‘alabanza’ to our roots and communities for all the good that does come out of them. This movie is the swan song to all our ‘hoods.
Thanks again Lin. I am Washington Heights, I love my ‘hood.
