A big part of adding “Life” to my years, is doing my part to add life to the years of others. Whether by giving money, time, goods or awareness, all fill ME up in addition to helping those in need.
I don’t have to tell anyone about or who Lin Manuel Miranda is. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock since 2008, you know Lin Manuel as the star and creator of Tony/Grammy winning “In the Heights,” and Pulitzer/Tony/Grammy winning mega-hit “Hamilton.” You also may know that, although Miranda is a native New Yorker, his roots are in Puerto Rico.
To raise money for the island in wake of devastating Hurricane Maria, literally the DAY AFTER the hurricane hit, Miranda put pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and wrote a song, “Almost Like Praying,” inspired by “Maria,” from “West Side Story.” He gathered some of the world’s biggest Latino stars – from Jennifer Lopez to Gloria Estefan to Rita Moreno – to lend their voices to the effort. The song has sold over 150,000 copies on iTunes, alone, with the entire download price going to aid Puerto Rican recovery. Miranda also partnered with the Hispanic Federation to raise funds for disaster relief in Puerto Rico. After you watch this video, PLEASE make sure to download the song through iTunes or GooglePlay (link below), and/or to donate to the rebuilding efforts by donating to organizations such as the Hispanic Federation!
A few days ago, Lin Manuel announced that he’ll be ‘borrowing his Hamilton costume back from the Smithsonian’ to reprise his starring, groundbreaking role as Alexander Hamilton for three weeks in January, 2019. The show will be performed at the University of Puerto Rico’s Teatro UPR. Waiting a little over a year for the island to make significant progress in its rebuilding efforts, his plan is to bring back tourism and income to Puerto Rico by marketing ‘vacation packages’ to travelers all over the world that will include tickets to Hamilton. Tickets will be sold, lottery style, to the local Puerto Rican islanders for $10.
