The opening shot of Line-Manuel Miranda’s new Puerto Rico benefit song, ‘Almost Like Praying’: Photo: YouTube
Lin-Manuel Miranda released a new song, “Almost Like Praying,” yesterday (October 5). The track will benefit Puerto Rico as it struggles to recoup after Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island on September 20.
The song borrows a line from the musical West Side Story:
Say it loud and there’s music playing
It’s almost like praying
“I’ve got a musical theater brain,” Miranda told NPR. “Some people have different kinds of brains — math and science — that’s what I’ve got. …I knew that ‘Maria’ would forever have a different connotation on the island as a result of that… So I began thinking about that song and the lyrics and a way to flip it into something positive.”
Apart from that hook, the song goes through and lists the 78 towns in Puerto Rico as a way to honor them. He didn’t want any towns to “feel left out” or “forgotten.”
“The headline in The [New York] Times on Sunday was, ‘Many Towns In Puerto Rico Feeling Forgotten,'” Miranda said. “And that broke my heart.”
Miranda, whose family is native to the island, features several artists on this song, including many big names like Jennifer Lopez, Luis Fonsi, and Marc Anthony.
All of the proceeds go right to the Hispanic Federation UNIDOS Disaster Relief Fund. From their, the organization will deliver resources and help to Puerto Ricans. In addition to releasing this song, Miranda shared a Spotify playlist called “For Puerto Rico Por Puerto Rico,” and the streaming revenue from that will also go toward the disaster relief.
Miranda is known for hearing the voice of the people and interacting with them, like when he answered fan questions on Twitter using only Rent lyrics. And in the case of Puerto Rico, he doesn’t want any person to feel forgotten.
“Hopefully we raise a lot of money for a lot of aid and a lot of relief for the humanitarian crisis that we’re in,” he said. “But also, hopefully, these towns never feel forgotten again.”
