The genius behind the hit musicals “Hamilton” and “In The Heights” has done it again. Just on little bit of a smaller scale.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, the most devastating storm to hit Puerto Rico in 85 years, Lin-Manuel Miranda has been advocating day and night for the island. A part of that advocacy has been writing a song to dedicate to the island and traveling around the country to get vocals for it. After only releasing bits and pieces of information about it via Twitter the song, titled “Almost Like Praying” is here, and it shines.
The featured list for the track seems never-ending, Marc Anthony, Ruben Blades, Camila Cabello, Pedro Capo, Dessa, Gloria Estefan, Fat Joe, Luis Fonsi, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex Lacamoire, John Leguizamo, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Moreno, Ednita Nazario, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos, Gina Rodriguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, PJ Sin Suela, Tommy Torres, Ana Villafañe, and none other than Lin himself all coming together for the tune, which despite the circumstances surrounding its release, makes you want to get up and dance.
The song’s lyrics run through the names of 78 of the towns in Puerto Rico, all of which were impacted by Hurricane Maria in one way or another.
“This song takes me all the way back.” GG, a Puerto Rican and Lin-Manuel Miranda fan living in New York said. “When listening to this, I can practically see my late grandfather whooping and driving his scooter around to the beat while this song blasts out his speaker. I can see us pulling up to my Abuela’s house and everyone dancing and hugging and being happy. More importantly, I see HOPE. Everyone is happy because they KNOW they’re gonna be okay. That’s my Puerto Rico. We do not struggle, we try our hardest and make the best out of what we can. And Lin-Manuel transcribed that into the gorgeous melody that is almost like praying.”
Proceeds from the song will be going to The Hispanic Federation, “the nation’s premier Latino nonprofit membership organization.” In the wake of Hurricane Maria the Hispanic Federation has launched the UNIDOS Disaster Relief Fund to help meet the needs brought on by the hurricane and aid recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. A list of where you can stream and purchase the song can be found here.
