#Carla in the heights how to

He doesn't know how to be a New Yorker and Dominican at the same time. But there is also a sense of loss and displacement because they came here, and Usnavi doesn't know how to embody both homes. And he says, ‘Best days of my life, morning pop.’ There is a real nostalgia that lives in that sentiment. “Every morning, he wakes up and he looks at his picture of him and his pop on on their old beach. It's not really a dream to leave the Heights.”Īlso central to the story: How nostalgia, displacement, and loss play out among the main characters, such as Usnavi who grapples with his dual identity as a New Yorker and a Dominican. Rubin-Vega adds, “I think of the dreams as dreaming for the ability to create a life that can sustain a legacy and keep moving forward. And they're all facing the reality of what happens when their dreams come true but are not sustainable,” Hudes says. Her dream has come true of having a … thriving salon. “Daphne's character Daniela, she doesn't want to leave. While characters like Usnavi hope to leave Washington Heights, Hudes points out that others chased their dream locally and realized it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Also in the conversation: Quiara Alegria Hudes, writer of the book “In the Heights” and the screenplay. She previously starred in “Rent” as Mimi. KCRW speaks with Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays a hair salon owner named Daniela. It follows the story of Usnavi, played by Anthony Ramos, who also starred in “Hamilton.” Usnavi dreams of leaving the neighborhood bodega he runs with his nephew and opening a business in the Dominican Republic where his parents came from. Just like the play, the film transports audiences to Washington Heights, the Dominican neighborhood in northern Manhattan, New York. Before “Hamilton,” Lin Manuel Miranda had “In the Heights,” his breakout 2008 musical that won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical.