The erasure of Afro-Latinx people, and especially of those who are darker-skinned, has long been an issue within the Latinx community. Afro-Latinos are central to all that is vibrant in Washington Heights the most cherished aspects of Dominican food and music are a product of the African diaspora. That coupled with the fact that Black Latinx identification is most prevalent among Dominicans in comparison to other Latinx subgroups makes this fallacy of Latinx representation even more baffling. Washington Heights is historically a Dominican neighborhood and arguably the most prominent Dominican community in the US nearly half of the residents in Washington Heights identify as Dominican.

I was only about 10 minutes into watching the film when I, an Afro-Puerto Rican from New York state who has spent time in Washington Heights, immediately realized the racial composition of the light-skinned and white-passing Latinx cast was not reflective of what you see walking through that neighborhood. This controversy, and the reaction to it among these Hollywood creators, exposes ugly realities lurking within the Latinx community. I thank you for raising it and I’m listening.” The following night, the legendary Puerto Rican musical actress Rita Moreno appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert defending Miranda, saying, “Can’t you just wait a while and leave it alone?” which also drew backlash, for which she eventually apologized. Chu responded, “In the end, when we were looking at the cast, we tried to get the people who were best for those roles.” A few days later, Miranda shared an apology via Twitter, saying, “I’m truly sorry. In an interview for the Root with some cast members and the director, Jon Chu, journalist Felice León asked about the absence of dark-skinned Afro-Latinx representation in the film. And among the leading roles, there was a glaring lack of Afro-Latinx representation. For a film set in a heavily Afro-Latinx neighborhood, darker-skinned people were relegated to dancers, hair salon workers, and other background roles.

Yet when the movie opened, criticism immediately ensued on social media.

The film adaptation of In the Heights, based on the popular stage musical by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, was billed as a much-needed celebration of the diverse Latinx neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City.

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