In the Heights

USNAVI:

Lights up on Washington Heights

up at the break of day

I wake up and I got this little punk

I gotta chase away

Pop the grate at the crack of dawn, sing

While I wipe down the awning

Hey y’all, good morning

PIRAGUA GUY:

Ice cold piragua! Parcha. China. Cherry. Strawberry. And just for today, I got mamey!

USNAVI:

Oye, piragüero, como estas?

PIRAGUA GUY:

Como siempre, Señor Usnavi.

USNAVI:

I am Usnavi

and you prob’ly never heard my name

Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated

Exacerbated by the fact that my syntax

Is highly complicated 'cuz I emigrated

From the single greatest little place

in the Caribbean:

Dominican Republic!

I love it!

Jesus, I’m jealous of it

And beyond that

Ever since my folks passed on

I haven’t gone back

Goddamn, I gotta get on that...

Fo!

The milk has gone bad, hold up just a second

Why is everything in this fridge warm and tepid?

I better step it up and fight the heat

'Cuz I’m not makin' any profit

if the coffee isn’t light and sweet!

ABUELA CLAUDIA:

Ooo-oo!

USNAVI:

Abuela, my fridge broke. I got café but no "con leche."

ABUELA CLAUDIA:

Try my mother’s old recipe: one can of condensed milk.

USNAVI:

Nice.

ABUELA CLAUDIA:

Ay! Paciencia y fe…

USNAVI:

That was Abuela, she’s not really my “abuela,”

But she practically raised me, this corner is her escuela

Now, you’re prob’ly thinkin:

"I’m up shit’s creek!

I've never been north of Ninety-Sixth Street!”

Well, you must take the A Train

Even farther than Harlem to northern Manhattan and maintain

Get off at 181st, and take the escalator

I hope you’re writing this down, I’m gonna test ya later

I’m getting tested;

times are tough on this bodega

Two months ago somebody bought Ortega’s

Our neighbors started packin’ up and pickin’ up

And ever since the rents went up

It’s gotten mad expensive

But we live with just enough

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights

I flip the lights and start my day

There are fights

WOMEN:

And endless debts

MEN:

And bills to pay

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights

I can’t survive without café

USNAVI:

I serve café

COMMUNITY:

'Cuz tonight seems like

a million years away!

En Washington—

USNAVI:

Next up to bat, the Rosarios

They run the cab company

They struggle in the barrio

See, their daughter Nina’s off at college

tuition is mad steep

So they can’t sleep

Everything they get is mad cheap!

KEVIN:

Good morning, Usnavi!

USNAVI:

Pan caliente, café con leche!

KEVIN:

Put twenty dollars on today’s lottery

CAMILA:

One ticket, that’s it!

KEVIN:

Hey! A man’s gotta dream...

CAMILA:

Don’t mind him, he’s all excited

‘Cuz Nina flew in at 3 A.M. last night!

KEVIN:

Don’t look at me

this one’s been cooking all week!

CAMILA:

Usnavi, come over for dinner

KEVIN/CAMILA:

There’s plenty to eat!

DANIELA:

So then Yesenia walks in the room—

CARLA:

Aha…

DANIELA:

She smells sex and cheap perfume!

CARLA:

Uh oh…

DANIELA:

It smells like one of those trees

That you hang from the rear view!

CARLA:

Ah, no!

DANIELA:

It’s true! She screams

“Who’s in there with you, Julio?”

Grabs a bat and kicks in the door

He’s in bed with José from the liquor store!

CARLA/USNAVI:

No me diga!

USNAVI:

Daniela and Carla, from the salon.

DANIELA/CARLA:

Thanks, Usnavi!

USNAVI:

Sonny, you’re late.

SONNI:

Chillax, you know you love me.

USNAVI:

Me and my cousin runnin’ just another dime-a-dozen

Mom-and-pop stop-and-shop

And, oh my god, it’s gotten

Too darn hot, like my man Cole Porter said

People come through for a few cold waters and

A lottery ticket, just a part of the routine

Everybody’s got a job, everybody’s got a dream

They gossip, as I sip my coffee and smirk

The first stop as people hop to work

Bust it— I’m like:

"One dollar, two dollars

one fifty, one sixty-nine.

I got it. You want a box of condoms? What kind?

That’s two quarters.

Two quarter waters. The New York Times.

You need a bag for that? The tax is added."

Once you get some practice at it

You do rapid mathematics automatically

Sellin’ maxipads, fuzzy dice for taxicabs

and practically Everybody’s stressed, yes!

But they press through the mess

Bounce checks

and wonder what’s next

COMMUNITY:

In the heights

I buy my coffee and I go

Set my sights

On only what I need to know

In the heights

Money is tight

But even so

When the lights go down

I blast my radio!

BENNY:

You ain’t got no skills!

USNAVI:

Benny!

BENNY:

Yo, lemme get a—

USNAVI:

Milky Way

BENNY:

Yeah, lemme also get a—

USNAVI:

Daily News—

BENNY:

And a—

USNAVI:

Post—

BENNY:

And most important, my—

USNAVI:

Boss’ second coffee, one cream—

BOTH:

Five sugars

BENNY:

I’m the number one earner—

USNAVI/SONNY:

What?!

BENNY:

The fastest learner—

USNAVI/SONNY:

What?!

BENNY:

My boss can’t keep me on the damn back burner!

USNAVI:

Yes, he can

BENNY:

I’m makin’ moves, I’m makin’ deals, but guess what?

USNAVI:

What?

BENNY/SONNY:

You still ain’t got no skills!

USNAVI:

Hardee-har

BENNY:

Yo, Vanessa show up yet?

USNAVI:

Shut up!

BENNY:

Hey little homie, don’t get so upset

USNAVI, spoken:

Man...

BENNY:

Tell Vanessa how you feel

buy the girl a meal

On the real, or you ain’t got no skills

VANESSA, speaking on the phone:

Nooo!

No no nooo!

No no nooo, no-no-no…

Mr. Johnson, I got the security deposit

It’s locked in a box in the bottom of my closet

It’s not reflected in my bank statement

But I’ve been savin’ to make a down payment and pay rent

No, no, I won’t let you down—

BENNY:

Yo, here’s your chance; ask her out right now!

VANESSA:

I’ll see you later, we can look at that lease!

BENNY:

Do somethin’, make your move, don’t freeze!

USNAVI:

Hey!

VANESSA:

You owe me a bottle of cold champagne!

USNAVI:

Are you moving?

VANESSA:

Just a little credit check

and I’m on that downtown train!

USNAVI:

Well, your coffee’s on the house

VANESSA:

Okay!

BENNY:

Usnavi, ask her out

SONNI:

No way!

VANESSA:

I’ll see you later, so…

BENNY:

Oooh... Smooth operator, aw, damn, there she goes!

Yo, bro, take five, take a walk outside!

You look exhausted, lost

don’t let life slide!

The whole world is struggling, times are tight

And you’re stuck to this corner like a streetlight!

USNAVI:

Yeah, I’m a streetlight, chokin' on the heat

The world spins around

while I’m frozen to my seat

The people that I know all keep on rollin' down the street

But every day is different

so I’m switchin’ up the beat

'Cuz my parents came with nothing

they got a little more

And sure, we’re poor

but yo, at least we got the store

And it’s all about the legacy they left with me, it’s destiny

And one day I’ll be on a beach

with Sonny writing checks to me

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights

I hang my flag up on display

USNAVI:

We came to work and to live and we got a lot in common

COMMUNITY:

It reminds me that I came from miles away

USNAVI:

D.R., P.R.

we are not stoppin’

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights

In the Heights

I’ve got today!

ABUELA CLAUDIA:

Every day, paciencia y fe

USNAVI:

Until the day we go from poverty to stock options

And today’s all we got

so we cannot stop

This is our block!

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights

I hang my flag up on display

It reminds me that I came from miles away

USNAVI/NEIGHBORS:

My family came from miles away—

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights

It gets more expensive every day

USNAVI/PIRAGUA GUY/WOMEN/MEN:

Every day

COMMUNITY:

And tonight is so far away—

USNAVI:

But as for mañana, mi pana

Ya gotta just keep watchin’

You’ll see the

late nights

You’ll taste beans and rice

The syrups and shaved ice

I ain’t gonna say it twice

So turn up the stage lights

We’re takin’ a flight

To a couple of days

in the life of what it’s like

COMMUNITY:

In the Heights!

In the Heights!

In the Heights!

ALL:

En Washington Heights!