A movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' beloved stage musical (which opened on Broadway in 2008), In the Heights has earned a largely positive response from critics and general audiences. However, that praise comes with a caveat, as the film is now being taken to task for failing to represent the diversity of the Latinx community within its real-life setting, New York City's Washington Heights, by not casting dark-skinned Afro-Latinx performers -- a community that's long been under-represented in popular culture -- in leading roles.
This criticism isn't, per se, new. In June 2020, just a couple months after In the Heights was pushed back to 2021 in response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Hudes responded to concerns about the film's colorism on Twitter. Although she noted the movie includes "some outstanding Afro Panamanian, Afro Dominican, and Afro Boricua actors [in] real scripted roles," she acknowledged her privilege as a "light skinned Latina" and promised to strive to do better when it comes to hiring Afro-Latinx talent with dark skin for her projects.
Despite what Hudes' comments imply, many on social media have pointed out the majority of In the Heights' main characters are played by lighter-skinned Latinx actors. Moreover, the only Black leading character, Benny, is portrayed by non-Latino actor Corey Hawkins. The film also cuts out a subplot from the stage musical in which Kevin, Benny's boss, views him as an outsider for not being Latin0 and disapproves of his romance with Kevin's daughter Nina.
This issue was highlighted in a video from The Root, in which host and producer Felice León -- a Black woman of Cuban descent from New York City -- asked the film's director, Jon M. Chu, “What would you say to folks who say that In the Heights privileges white-passing and light-skinned Latinx people?” Chu, who was similarly criticized for casting mostly lighter-skinned East Asian or Asian-American actors as the leads in his 2018 hit Crazy Rich Asians, called it “a fair conversation to have,” before adding, “I hope that encourages more people to tell more stories and get out there and do it right.”
Leslie Grace, who plays Nina in the film and is Afro-Latina, offers a less shaky response to León in the video, stating, "I didn’t realize until making this movie that I didn’t really get to see myself or people that looked like my siblings, that are darker than me, onscreen. I hope that this is cracking that glass ceiling. Because I do hope to see my brothers and sisters that are darker than me lead these movies."
Miranda responded to the criticism on Twitter, acknowledging his goal with In the Heights was to represent and celebrate the diversity of Washington Heights' Latinx community, admitting "In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short." The Hamilton creator said he's "truly sorry" and doing his best to learn from the feedback, which he praised for its honesty. "I’m trying to hold space for both the incredible pride in the movie we made and be accountable for our shortcomings," he added.
You can read Miranda's full Twitter message below.
Directed by Jon M. Chu and based on the musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes, In the Heights stars Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Berrera, Olga Merediz, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco and more. The film is currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
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