I loved watching In the Heights. I thought the storyline was great and I enjoyed the depth they allowed for the various characters (and in particular the women) in a musical which could easily have shied away toward lighter fare. I shed a few tears at the way the movie captured both the beauty and struggle of immigrant families. I chuckled at the familiarity of some of the tendencies in the family relationships. The movie hit a chord and I connected with it, but it also missed a deeper connection with a large, often overlooked portion of the Latin community.
The cast is made up of mainly light-skinned and white-passing Latin artists. The majority of the darker skinned and Black cast members are literally relegated to the background as dancers in the crowd. What might have been the craziest part of this whole scenario, the director and the cast seemed not to even have noticed just how things had come across until Felice León, a Black woman of Cuban descent, asked them pointed questions during their interview with The Root. It took an online uproar for the story’s writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, to even acknowledge how badly they had missed the mark.
I understand the desire to push back feelings of imposter syndrome and do your best to believe that you deserve to be where you are, or to believe that you really were the best person for the role. But in the context of the question that was asked, that’s not how the responses came across. Like many have mentioned, it sounded like, although many Black and darker-skinned Latino actors auditioned, they all collectively just didn’t make the cut talent-wise. And somehow, coincidentally, the light-skinned and white passing artists were all the absolute best fits for the roles. While any one of them could possibly have been the best fit for their particular role, to assume that the resulting cast was not a product of the narrow vision the producers and casting team had in mind for the film is extremely naive. Especially when they go on to say that they specifically wanted to showcase diversity with the dancers (but didn’t feel as compelled with the leads?).
The main Black character (we at least acknowledge the feature of a dark-skinned man shown in a positive light) carries a Jamaican flag at the end of the movie, seemingly showing that while he is embedded in this same community he is not actually Latin like “us.”
I have heard some arguments pointing toward the mezcla that makes up Latin culture. And yes, there is a mix of African, Spanish and indigenous cultures that have made the Caribbean what it is. But that does not change the races of the individual people who represent that region. And that doesn’t change what Washington Heights actually looks, feels and sounds like.
Any claim that race is merely a concept and as such doesn’t matter in this scenario negates the reality that we face every day. Race might have been constructed, but it’s the house that we all live in now. And because of the race that we’re a part of, instead of being chosen as the leads we are again relegated to the background.
I am Afro-Latina. I am Black. Every day, I face the world and am received as a Black woman. Some Dominicans will recognize me as one of their own by sight, but my most common reality is to be assumed Black until proven Latina. I will never know the experience of passing for white and I don’t care to. But that doesn’t make me any less or more worthy of being the main character in a musical. Until and even then, I sure am the main character in my own.
Maya Just Writes 