“It Won’t Be Long Now:” The Impact “In The Heights” Had in My Life 12 Years After Watching the Musical

My sister and I before we saw “In The Heights.”

It was summer 2009. My sister had just graduated high-school and was going to do her undergrad in Montreal. The whole family was going to take her to college from Dominican Republic. I asked my dad if we could please stop in New York City first. It was, after all, my favorite city. He complied and booked all the tickets to Montreal with a 3, maybe 4-day layover in New York. He loves the city as much as I do, so that was an easy sell.

However, traveling with 3 teenagers at the time was not an easy task for my parents. They had to figure out ways to keep us entertained with fun activities for the whole family that wouldn’t feel too “childlike.” But my dad had a plan. He bought tickets to a musical he had already seen a few months before in one of his business trips to the city. “I think you’re gonna like it,” he told us, adding that the main character was Dominican and there was some Spanish in it, as well as our “typical” music.

I was intrigued. A musical? About a Dominican guy? On Broadway? Telling my story? Something seemed suspicious. Would this be told from our perspective or from the perspective of some white guy who’s been to a Dominican neighborhood once and all of the sudden thinks he knows everything about our culture? But my dad was vouching for it, and everything he said seemed legit, so I was very excited.

We got to the Richard Rodgers Theatre and immediately realized this was no ordinary musical. “In The Heights” had won Best Musical at the Tony Awards the year prior, and the lines were long. When we finally got to our seats, we got comfortable and waited for the show to begin. All of the sudden, claves. “Pam, pam, pam, pam, pam” and up on the stage comes out this skinny dude with a goatee and a button-down shirt very similar to the ones I’d seen my grandfather and his friends wear, introducing himself.

“I am Usnavi and you’ve probably never heard my name// Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated// Exacerbated by the fact that my syntax // Is highly complicated 'cause I immigrated // From the single greatest little place in the Caribbean Dominican Republic, I love it!” I lost it. There it was. My country mentioned with such pride on a Broadway stage. This was really a dream. I felt such a sense of dignity and honor.

As the intro goes on and Usnavi introduces all the characters I couldn’t help but to full-on cry. It felt natural and authentic, it didn’t feel forced. The music flowed and really reminded me of home, because those were the sounds I had come to love and cherish. Merengue, bachata, a little salsa even. I couldn’t believe it.

I realize the story is much more than just a “Dominican guy,” this is about a whole community of Latinx and Hispanics, their struggles and dreams. And then we start getting deeper into the character’s stories. First we had Nina. She was the first of her family to go to college, and the pressure was unbearable. However, she didn’t want to let her family — and neighborhood — down.

As the first born of my family I related to her on another level. I saw her struggle as my own, feeling the need to please everyone while meeting the standards I felt were imposed to me. Always leading by example and being the perfect daughter. I was exhausted and having Nina sing “Breathe” was a cathartic moment. I remember holding my breath so bad because I was about to sob and didn’t want my parents — sitting next to me — to see me in that condition.

I also related to Vanessa so much. She was this ball of attitude and feminism, calling out her catcallers and just gliding through life like she had it all figured out. However, she didn’t let people see the other side of her. She felt stuck in her world and wanted bigger, and better things, and she was grinding towards that. How could I not relate to that as a 19-year-old whose dream was to live in the big city? “It won’t be long now… any day” she sang, and in a way, that became my motto too.

Of course, Daniela and Carla from the salon! Anyone who’s been to a Dominican salon becomes them. It was so easy to enjoy their colorful personalities: Daniela’s quick wit, and Carla’s air headedness. They were the perfect complement to each other and gave the musical some lighthearted fun as it navigated through some heavy topics.

I could go on about every single character of the musical and the many ways I identified with each one of them, because in the end they were that, a representation of all Latinx and Hispanics: what we love, what motivates us, the things that annoy us, what we cherish the most, what makes us happy, what makes us sad, what we value, and what we don’t care for.

It was this big family in the shape of a neighborhood that looked out for each other, supported one another, told the truths when they needed to be told, and that made everyone feel like home. “In The Heights” made me feel like home for the hours it lasted. I was overcome with emotions to see myself represented on an international stage in a way I hadn’t been represented before. I felt seen in a good way. I felt comfortable, I could relate to the music and all the familiar instruments, the lyrics, the characters, the situations.

It was the musical that pushed me to take a leap of faith and move to New York City two years later to study Musical Theatre, because for the first time I felt like I wouldn’t need to whitewash myself, my personality, my mannerism, my loudness, because there were finally roles written for us.

I obviously auditioned with “It Won’t Be Long Now,” and that was the beginning of a new life for me, a journey that’s given me some of the greatest joys of my life, and has taken me on some of the wildest rides. I wouldn’t change a thing. I finished my Musical Theatre program, I went back to my Communications degree and worked in digital media for 8 years, and now I pivoted to music again, this time as a Music Publicist, all in New York City. But I wouldn’t have the confidence to dare to do things if I hadn’t seen myself represented and validated like I did when I saw “In The Heights.”

Now, as the movie finally premiered, I can’t help to feel a little jealous. Jealous because I had kept this musical as one of my hidden gems for 12 years, and now I realized it’s not just mine anymore. The musical has taken a life bigger than itself, and finally has the platform to reach not only the people it couldn’t reach on Broadway, but the new generations that have come of age. My only wish is that they make it theirs as much as I made it mine, that they realize that they’re seen and they matter, and that they can find the inspiration I did to achieve great things.