Lin Manuel Miranda has made major strides with his stellar Broadway production Hamilton, coupled with his recent performance at the White House. Yet, one of his main concerns lie in the economical downfall that his native Puerto Rico is currently experiencing.
In a video released by MSNBC, Miranda asked congress to lend a helping hand in Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. “I’m not here as a politician,” he said. “I think anyone that sees or hears Hamilton knows my healthy cynicism and allergy towards politics. But we have a humanitarian crisis on our hands.”
Miranda went on to talk about spending summers in Puerto Rico with his family, before expounding on the colony’s economic plight. “The Doctors and lawyers are leaving Puerto Rico now,” he continued. “We face a financial crisis that triples anything you are experiencing in the United States, and it’s a solvable, fixable crisis. And what we really need is help from congress. This is not a bipartisan issue. This is not a republican issue. It’s not a democratic issue. What we need is the availability to restructure, and get Puerto Rico out of the hole that it’s in.”
After putting his plea out into the universe, Lin Manuel closed out with a poignant reminder: “But seriously, this is a fixable issue. If I can put a human face on people that are suffering I’m happy to do it, and speak on behalf of the people from my island, who are by the way American citizens.”
Take a look at the full interview below.