For years, Broadway fans have been looking forward to the film adaptation of “In the Heights.” Universal bought the rights to the film in 2008, according to Playbill. That was back when Lin Manuel Miranda was still the star of the show on Broadway. According to Variety, the planned film was shelved because Universal was unable to locate a “bankable Latino celebrity” for the starring role. The property was then sold to the Weinstein Company just before the Harvey Weinstein allegations surfaced, but it was never developed for obvious reasons.
Finally, in 2018, Warner Bros. won the rights to the show at an auction. Filming began in 2019 under the direction of “Crazy Rich Asians” director John M. Chu, starring Anthony Ramos of “A Star Is Born” in the starring role. Then COVID-19 shut down theatres, causing the film to be postponed for the final time. Finally – finally! – the movie will be released in theatres and on HBO Max in 2021.
Ramos plays Usnavi de la Vega, a bodega proprietor in New York’s Washington Heights area, in “In the Heights.” Over three summer days, the musical depicts the different lives of the neighbourhood, with everyone intertwined in a complex tapestry. The local salon, run by Daniela, is one of the neighborhood’s mainstays (“RENT” star Daphne Rubin-Vega). Carla is her personal assistant.
Carla is in a romantic relationship with Daniela in the film adaptation of the narrative, according to CinemaBlend. Carla is played by Stephanie Beatriz in this long-awaited film. You could recognise the actress from one of these previous roles if she looks familiar.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Badass Bisexual
Beatriz is best known for her role as Rosa Diaz in the FOX (later NBC) crime drama “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Rosa is the Nine-toughest Nine’s and most reserved member. Rosa, who began as Charles’s crush, grew into her own person over the course of the show’s eight seasons. She, like Beatriz, has come out as bisexual (per the Advocate).
Beatriz was originally cast in the part of Amy Santiago, which was subsequently filled by Melissa Fumero. The writers were so enamoured with Beatriz that they renamed a character named Meghan Rosa and cast Beatriz in her place.
The sitcom has received appreciation for featuring multiple Latina series regulars. However, the show has been chastised for romanticising the police. After the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, showrunner Dan Goor threw four completed Season 8 screenplays “in the trash,” according to co-star Terry Crews. He answered, “We have to start anew.” “Right now, we’re not sure which way it’s going to go.”
On One Day At a Time, There’s More Queer Representation.
Beatriz and Fumero both had cameo appearances in the Netflix (then Pop TV) remake of “One Day at a Time.” The Alvarez family gathered during Tía Ophelia’s burial in the Season 3 premiere. Fumero and Beatriz, as well as Gloria Estefan of the music superstar Gloria Estefan, represent extended family members with tense ties to the Alvarezes we already know and love.
Mirtha, Lydia’s estranged sister, is played by Estefan, who also performs the show’s theme song (Rita Moreno). Because one believes the other took the heritage mantilla, the two had a falling out. Mirtha’s daughter, played by Fumero, was best friends with Penelope (Justina Machado) before the mantilla drama separated them.
Pilar, a member of the family who dresses quite butch, is played by Beatriz. Elena (Isabella Gomez), who is still trying to come to terms with her lesbian sexuality, is ecstatic at the prospect of having another queer family member.
But she doesn’t want to judge Pilar only on the basis of her appearance. Pilar eventually comes out to Elena, and the two become friends. Pilar has been out the entire time, but the rest of the family has pretended not to notice.
