In tune with Puerto Rico
He even enlists the name ‘Maria’ for a good cause
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda sings his praises of the island and offers insights on his new track, Almost Like Praying.
Lin-Manuel Miranda was not watching the news Tuesday when President Trump was throwing paper towels during his visit to Puerto Rico. He was in the studio working on a song for relief for the island.
“I was very glad to have something to do while that was happening,” he told USA TODAY. “I was hoping for an announcement of additional troops on the ground, additional aid. I read about it after. In the absence of that, we have to just keep focusing on our work.”
Miranda’s latest work has been almost entirely focused on providing aid and relief for Puerto Rico after the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria last month. He openly criticized the government’s response to the crisis, and in a headlinemaking tweet, he told Trump that he was “going straight to hell.”
But Miranda is done focusing on Trump. This week, he’s occupied with efforts to help Puerto Rico, including his new track, Almost Like Praying, the proceeds of which will benefit the Hispanic Federation’s Unidos Disaster Relief Fund, which is working with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to bring crucial supplies to the island, among other efforts. Miranda enlisted fellow Latin artists Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Camila Cabello, Dessa, Gloria Estefan, Luis Fonsi, Rita Moreno and more for the track, which he says is positively “dope.”
He wanted to make Praying a dance-y track rather than a somber one that felt like “homework” to listen to, but it came from an emotional place.
“I, like pretty much anyone with family on the island, I shared with every Puerto Rican those terrible days of silence after the storm hit,” he says. “I heard from my family four days after, five days after — some people are still waiting.”
Seeing the names of the 78 towns that make up the island over and over again on social media inspired Miranda. As did the name of the hurricane itself.
“The name ‘Maria’ forever has a negative connotation for this island. It’s the worst storm in 100 years. It’s also the name of my favorite song from West Side Story. I kept thinking about that song, so I took a sample from the song Maria, to flip it. To literally flip the sample the same way we’re trying to flip the natural disaster into something positive.”
The nearly two dozen contributing artists came together in a single week to record the track. “That’s why Puerto Ricans are — I can’t say this in a family (news) paper, but fricken’ incredible,” Miranda says, noting that he called friends and reached out to artists he didn’t know, like Cabello, on Twitter. “And then the word spread.
“I was with Rita Moreno in the studio when she was like, ‘Do you have Gloria Estefan?’ and I was like, ‘Well, I don’t have her number!’ and (Moreno) was like, ‘Hold
on, I’m calling Gloria Estefan!’ ”
Miranda is heartened by the response, even in the face of relentless tragedy.
“You read the horror out of Mexico, the Virgin Islands. And you have to take that as a challenge: OK, so there’s no shortage of ways to do good.”
His determination speaks to his near-constant positivity. His Trump tweets were a rare break, which Manuel believes is why they caused such a stir.
“Go to my Twitter feed. It’s like dad jokes and audio of my son singing the alphabet!” he says. “I see the good and the bad in the world, and I do my best to reflect the good as much as possible.”
For Puerto Rico, he’s pulling out all the stops to harness the good in those willing to donate.
The disaster “requires the most robust response in years,” he says. “And I will jump up and down and make noise until I see that response happening.”