

Together, the characters create their own language, filled with Spanish loan words, American idioms and even some Spanish/English mashups. Miranda's Washington Heights is populated by a colorful cast of Latinx characters from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Cuba, each with their own regional dialect. Many of the most important Spanish words and phrases are translated onscreen during the movie, but it's still easy for non-Spanish speakers to miss some of the nuances of the story.

Like the musical, the 2021 film adaptation of In the Heights is filled with the sounds of Miranda's block, including the unique mix of English and Spanish spoken by its residents. It's no surprise the Spanish language is a big part of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights, a musical that pays homage to a mostly Hispanic New York neighborhood, and here's what they all mean.
