Facts About "In the Heights"
- Florencia Lombardi
- Jun 18, 2021
- 3 min read
You might have heard of the famous “In the Heights” written by Quiara Alegría Hudes with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This American musical drama tells the story of a corner in the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City, where every member of the community follows their dreams for a better life. On June 10, the movie adaptation of the musical was released. To celebrate this long-awaited moment, here are some fun facts about the film.
The musical’s songwriter, Lin-Manuel Miranda, appeared in the film as Piragüero. He sings “Piragua” 52 minutes into the movie and can also be spotted during the “Carnaval del Barrio” number towards the ending.
Similarly, Christopher Jackson, who had worked alongside Lin-Manuel in the musical “Hamilton”, also made a cameo in the film. This other work was also written by Lin-Manuel and was released as a movie last year. Although in the original musical Christopher played Benny, this time he appeared as Mr. Softee.
A role was specially created for the film adaptation. Marc Anthony plays Gapo, Sonny’s alcoholic dad, who did not exist in the original musical. Being a big fan of the stage show, the actor agreed to make a quick appearance in the film after Lin-Manuel texted him.
The massive pool scene in the “96,000” musical number was not scripted. The location for the scene was chosen after Quiara Alegría Hudes mentioned the neighborhood’s public pool to the director, Jon M. Chu. Once he saw the place, he immediately decided to film the number there.
This scene happens to be one of the most difficult ones to shoot. According to the director, there were around 600-700 extras, with ages ranging from 5 to 80 years old. Lifeguards and firefighters were nearby to ensure everyone’s safety, along with the entire cast and crew, making the place extremely crowded. To top it all off, they were constantly drying towels to keep people warm and rain poured down every half an hour.
Another strenuous scene to shoot was the “Paciencia y Fe” musical number in which Abuela Claudia sings in the subway station. With only one day to shoot in the real station, various problems needed to be solved quickly to get everything done in time. After spending hours arranging the lights and decorations, they received a call from the city that a train needed to pass through the rail they were using. Therefore, they needed to move everything from the tracks and put it back on 10 minutes later.
This incredible performance had a tremendous impact both inside and outside the film. When Olga Merediz, who plays Abuela Claudia, sang the song on the set for the cast, everyone was moved to tears.
Unfortunately, we did not get to see every song in the film. “Inútil,” “Sunrise,” “Hundreds of Stories,” “Enough,” “Atención” and “Everything I Know” were left out because of time constraints. To properly make room for Usnavi and Vanessa’s storyline, they made those cuts.
However, other familiar tunes made brief appearances in the adaptation. While Mr. Rosario is on hold with Stanford, a small part of “You’ll Be Back” from the musical Hamilton is playing on the phone. Additionally, when Abuela Claudia goes to the cleaners, the original actress who played Nina, Mandy Gonzalez, can be heard singing in the background.
While “In The Heights” was being filmed, the remake of “West Side Story” was being shot a few streets away, meaning that their sets were extremely close. Jon M. Chu said that at one point, a catering truck for the other film was in their shots. Also, Lin-Manuel snuck over to the other set and got a glimpse of the song “María” as it was being filmed.
Bibliography
IMDb (2021). In The Heights Trivia. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321510/trivia
Martinez, A. (2021, June 13) 9 Sneaky "In The Heights" Easter Eggs And Cameos We Spotted. Buzzfeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/angelicaamartinez/in-the-heights-easter-eggs
Meredith, K. (2021, June 14) In the Heights Is Full of Lin-Manuel Miranda Easter Eggs, Including a Clever Hamilton Nod. Popsugar.
Nicolau, E. (2021, June 11) The Lyrics to In the Heights's "96,000" Were Changed in a Subtle But Significant Way [Photograph] Oprah Daily. https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a36662642/in-the-heights-96000-lyrics-meaning/
Scott, A. (2021, June 15) 'In the Heights' | Anatomy of a Scene [Photograph] The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/movies/in-the-heights-review.html
Valdivia, P. (2021, June 10) 13 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About "In The Heights" From Jon M. Chu Himself. Buzzfeed.
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