In the Heights - And Its Connection to Social Class

My current favorite musical is In the Heights, by Lin Manuel Miranda. It tells the stories of people living in Washington Heights, in a really crummy "barrio" that revolves around a bodega, a hair salon, and a taxi cab company. There are a few characters I want to focus on.


Nina's story:
Nina is the daughter of Mr. Rosario, who owns the taxi cab company, which he started as a young adult with his wife. Nina, a high achiever, was one of the only people in her high school class to graduate. She got into Stanford and was the pride of her neighborhood... But since her father didn't earn much and her scholarship only covered part of her tuition, she had to take on two jobs to cover the difference. She was so busy working that her grades dropped and she lost the scholarship. Her father resolves to do whatever he can to pay for her education, so he sells his business at a fraction of what it's worth, and all his taxi drivers lose their jobs.


Benny's story:
Benny is one of Mr. Rosario's drivers, and the only black guy in the neighborhood, which is entirely Latino. Even though he's friends with a lot of the younger people in the neighborhood, the upper generation has trouble accepting him. When he starts dating Nina, Mr. Rosario refuses to accept their relationship because Benny isn't Latino. Race is a big barrier in their relationship.



Abuela Claudia:
Abuela sings this song, "Pacience y fe," in which she talks about her experience coming to America as a young girl. Her mother thought they were coming to a land of opportunities, but they end up having to work as maids, where the rich white population treats them like scum.
"So we cleaned some homes, polishing with pride, scrubbing the whole of the Upper East Side. The days into weeks, the weeks into years, and here I stay."
Abuela came to America to find opportunities, but instead, she got stuck in poverty. Out of necessity, she spent her whole life working for the upper classes, with no room to move into a different class.


Mr. Rosario's story:
His father (and his father's father) was a farmer, and he was the first person in his family to try to do something different.
"But I told him, 'Papi, I'm sorry, I'm going further. I'm getting on a plane, and I'm gonna change the world someday.' And he slapped my face."
In this song, Mr. Rosario makes his decision to do whatever it takes to send Nina back to college, because he was discouraged from pursuing his dreams. (Like the girl in the video, who "was getting above her raisin.')


So basically, this whole neighborhood is made up of minorities who are trapped in their class. The main action of the play (there are so many stories, but I guess this is one of the most major story lines) is that someone in the neighborhood won the lottery, which is $96,000. Most upper middle class people wouldn't think of that as a lot of money, but to the people of the barrio, it's huge.


Some lyrics from the song "96,000":


"If I won the lotto tomorrow, I wouldn't bother goin' on no spendin' spree. I'd pick a business school and pay the entrance fee. Then maybe if you're lucky, you'll stay friends with me. I'll be a business man, richer than Nina's daddy. Donald Trump and I on the links and he's my caddy. My money's makin' money, I'm goin' from po' to moto! Keep the bling, I want the brass ring like Frodo!"
In this part of the song, Benny raps about what he would do with the money: go to business school and become new wealth. He wants to escape his class. Furthermore, he doesn't want bling, which is showy, non-classy wealth; he wants a brass ring, which is subtler and more classy.

Usnavi (the main character - who I didn't mention before, but whatever) replies:
"Oh no, there goes Mr. Braggadocio. Next thing you know, you're lyin' like Pinnochio."
He instinctively distrusts all people at the top, thinking that they didn't get where they are honestly.

Benny says later in the song,
"For real though, imagine how it would feel goin' real slow down the highway of life with no regrets and no breaking your neck for respect or a paycheck."
People at the bottom of the class system have so much trouble earning money or getting to relax or being respected. They can work twice as hard but get paid next to nothing because they're being paid minimum wage.

Sonny, the political activist, says he would get computers for the neighborhood. He says,
"Your kids are leaving without a good edumacation. Change the station, teach them about gentrification. The rent is escalating, the rich are penetrating..."
Sonny notices that the problem is in the school system. All the wealthy kids are being taught how to be rich and how to succeed, but since the barrio school has no money and because it doesn't teach the kids that they're worth something, practically no one graduates, and then they all get stuck in a rut.

After the show, I got to go to a talkback with some of the actors. A lot of them commented on how the stories in the show reflect the stories of their families. They all said how amazing it was to be part of a show that reflected their experiences as minorities in the lower class. I love the show, and it's uplifting, but ultimately, I had to wonder: why aren't we doing more to change this? We need another war on poverty (speaking of which, time to study for my APUSH test tomorrow!).

- Bex

The link to the recording studio video of "96,000": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSTjRUMfOKI Give it a listen. The song is really good.