Lin-Manuel Miranda responds to lack of Afro-Latino depiction in 'In The Heights'

Hollywood actor Lin-Manuel Miranda starred in the musical drama film In the Heights which premiered on June 4, 2021. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the movie was touted to be a celebration of the Latinx community in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. However, upon the release, many people criticized the colorism in the film and the absence of representation of the Afro-Latino population in the neighborhood. Miranda, who has also served as co-producer, has responded to the criticism and issued an apology for the same.

Lin-Manuel responds to colorism criticism

In the Heights is based on a stage musical of the same name co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda along with Quiara Alegria. After receiving the colorism criticism on the film, the Hamilton actor appreciated the honest feedback and issued an apology on his Twitter handle on Monday, June 14. His Twitter post read, "I started writing In the Heights because I didn't feel seen. And over the past 20 years all I wanted was for us -- ALL of us -- to feel seen."  Talking about the colorism criticism he wrote, "I'm seeing the discussion around Afro-Latino representation in our film this weekend and it is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latino community don't feel sufficiently represented within it, particularly among the leading roles. I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling unseen in the feedback."

He continued, "I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy. In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short". He concluded, "I’m truly sorry. I’m learning from the feedback, I thank you for raising it, and I’m listening. I’m trying to hold space for both the incredible pride in the movie we made and be accountable for our shortcomings." He wrote in the end, "Thanks for your honest feedback. I promise to do better in my future projects, and I’m dedicated to the learning and evolving we all have to do to make sure we are honoring our diverse and vibrant community." See the Twitter post-

About In The Heights movie cast

In The Heights movie stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi de la Vega, Corey Hawkins as Benny, Leslie Grace as Nina Rosario, Melissa Barrera as Vanessa Morales, Olga Merediz as Abuela Claudia, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Daniela among others. The movie stars Brooklyn Nine-Nine fame Stephanie Beatriz in the supporting role of Carla whereas Miranda appeared as The Piragua Guy. The film also stars original broadway cast members Christopher Jackson, Seth Stewart, and Javier Munoz.

IMAGE: IN THE HEIGHTS' INSTAGRAM