Lin-Manuel Miranda

If you were to ask me who is one of my biggest inspirations I would without a doubt mention Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin-Manuel is a Puerto Rican actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, etc., who has made his name known worldwide. He has been the creator of, and been in the creative teams of, hits like In the Heights, Hamilton, Moana, and in Disney’s upcoming Live-Action adaptation of the Little Mermaid.

One of the problems that many minorities face in the art industry (film, theater, etc.) is that there never is a good representation or depiction of them. This also means that to get a job as performers is much more difficult for minorities, or at least it used to be (times are changing!). It is due to this fact, amongst others, that I have a deep admiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Lin-Manuel knew that him being Puerto Rican was in someway gonna limit his opportunities, but he did not let that stop him. He did what any sensible man would, create, write and star in his own show, as simple as that. Lin-Manuel said to himself (I imagine), “If no one’s gonna hire me to be broadway’s next Fiyero on Wicked, then I am going to make my own Fiyero.”, and he did. It was thanks to this train of thought that characters like Usnavi from In The Heights and Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton were born.

Lin-Manuel is for me, and should be for all Puerto Ricans, an inspiration. He is living proof that if you persevere and have faith in your dreams you will, sooner or later, achieve them. Like the line that was said in the movie Mary Poppins Returns (a movie in which he also starred in), “Everything is possible, even the impossible.”

P.S. I got to meet him when he went to my university, the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, and IT WAS AWESOME!