We’ve featured Lin-Manuel Miranda on here before, but it’s usually been in connection with his Broadway show In The Heights. Now, with the show having ended it’s Broadway run, what lies ahead for Mr, Miranda? The folks over at LargeUp got the chance to find out from the man himself. Check out the feature below…
If you’re anything like us, then over the last few years you may have found yourself basking in a concrete-lined Caribbean paradise where bodegas adorned in fresh graffiti and piraguero chants could make any campesino feel like the remnants of el capital lie somewhere along 135th Street. Located in New York’s uptown area, the culturally rich infusion of Dominicano culture that is the Washington Heights section of Manhattan has a slew of worldly stories to tell–all within a 30 block span. As told through the highly personal experiences and worldview of Nuyorican playwright/actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights has illuminated this enclave to audiences across the spectrum, bridging the gap between the Caribbean islands and Manhattan island. Also please note, the on/off Broadway musical was the winner of four Tony Awards and a slew of other accolades. Needless to say, el senor Miranda is a busy man with a busy brain that continues to spray creativity in all directions. With its Broadway run having come to a close earlier this month, LARGE UP caught the creator in a rare moment of downtime and jumped on the opportunity to discuss the far-reaching success of In the Heights with Lin-Manuel…as well as what’s next for the young playwright with a future that’s broader than Broadway….
Interesting article on the possible future of Port-au-Prince, in wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. A city of many villages? Check out an excerpt below…
…That plans calls for rebuilding much of the core as standalone super-blocks, each with its own public-private infrastructure, parking and management. The biggest advantage of this arrangement is its incremental cost. The Urban Core scenario, by contrast, would require $175 million to restore electricity, running water and sewage throughout the old city in a one-shot deal — but it’s unclear whether there is enough money and will to do something of that magnitude. “Every street must be broken to effect this,” Duany said in a web conference. By contrast, each super-block in the Urban Village scenario would cost only $3.7 million to build, with “potable water, electricity, and sewage self-contained in the block. No pipes out,” he said. “You’re on your own.”
The trade-off is a higher total cost, since these Urban Villages would be built over time. “You have judge economy versus feasibility,” he said. “There are no dreams here. This can be done. It’s expensive, but it can be done.”…
Since the dropping of the Distant Relative‘s project we haven’t posted much on it but recently all that changed since Nas and Damian’s trip to Jamaica was documented for the Promised Land video. Check out all three of the videos here.
A week or so ago, Collie Buddz announced that he was going to release a free EP, something for the fans since he hasn’t dropped a project in a while. No further wait cause its here (download etc below).
Today marks the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. The NY Times did a good video piece depicting life one year later. As you will see much of the hardship and devastation still remains with only 5% of the rubble cleared and people still living in tent cities and unsanitary conditions. While much has happened in Haiti, such as the UN introducing cholera to the country and presidential elections marred with scandal, not much has changed a year later.
“Who Feels It Knows It” was one of Romain Virgo’s strongest tunes for 2010, its good track dedicated to all those hard workers out there doing menial jobs to make ends meet. The video which is new to me, is of matching quality to the song, so its only right I feature it.
Gyptian is featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series to do a couple of his popular tracks live at a tiny desk. He performed “Hold Yuh”, the classic “Beautiful Lady” and “Nah Let Go”. Props to him this should expose his music to another sector of the American public.
If your computer is from the early 90′s and you don’t have flash or you just want the audio, then you can download the audio here
Gotta spread the news: one on the Cuban Revolution that closes this week and another on Haiti that kicks off tomorrow night…see the info on both below…
The Cuban Revolution of 1959 was one of the most spectacular political events of the twentieth century. A dramatic chapter in the Cold War, the improbable overthrow of the dictator Fulgenico Batista by a ragtag band of young Communist guerillas and intellectuals occurred just ninety miles from the United States. Tracing the movement from the triumphal entry of the rebels into Havana on January 1, 1959, to the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, this exhibition shows the tremendous influence of photography in recording and encouraging the revolutionary movement in Cuba. Among the most outstanding works in this exhibition of rare vintage prints are Alberto Korda’s famous portrait of Che Guevara titled “Heroic Guerrilla” and never-before-seen images of Che’s death in Bolivia in 1967. The show features work from over thirty photographers, including important images of pre-Revolutionary Cuba in the 1950s by Constantino Arias as well as classic images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Raúl Corrales, and Burt Glinn, among others. Cuba in Revolution explores everyday life in Cuba before and after the Revolution and considers the ways in which both Cuban and foreign photojournalists helped construct the image of the revolution abroad. The exhibition is organized by ICP chief curator Brian Wallis and independent curator Mark Sanders.
In beautiful portraits of dignity and joy, photographer Wyatt Gallery shows us the reality of Haitian living nearly a year after what is arguably the worst natural disaster in modern history, the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake.
An exhibition of Wyatt Gallery’s photography will display at the Umbrage Gallery in DUMBO from January 6th through March 31st 2011, with an opening reception on Thursday, January 6th from 6-8 PM.
Dom already dropped a dime on the recent Frank 151 Cuba issue, but when I came across this video that the folks at Frank dropped earlier this week online, I felt it only right to share.
Watch the video and share in the knowledge…
In Frank Chapter 42: Cuba, we asked professor and author (look for her book Cuba Represent!) Sujatha Fernandes to speak on the roots, current state, and future of hip-hop music and culture in Cuba. We paired her insightful interview with beautiful Polaroid portraits of Cuban rappers shot by Jauretsi Saizarbitoria.
