Titled 'Almost Like Praying', the song benefiting Puerto Rico also features Camila Cabello, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Estefan and many more.
- October 6, 2017
AceShowbiz -
Lin-Manuel Miranda has brought together a number of Latin artists for Hurricane relief. The "Hamilton" writer has been teasing a star-studded single titled "Almost Like Praying" and the song is now made available for stream or download.
Also featured in the song are Jennifer Lopez, Camila Cabello, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Estefan, Ruben Blades, Pedro Capo, Dessa, Fat Joe, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex Lacamoire, John Leguizamo, Rita Moreno, Ednita Nazario, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos, Gina Rodriguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, PJ Sin Suela, Tommy Torres and Ana Villafane.
Proceeds from the song will all go to the Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief Fund. "Y'all, when I say all hands on deck for Puerto Rico I mean ALL HANDS ON DECK," he tweeted on Thursday, October 5 along with a link to a site where people can made donations to Hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico.
Y'all, when I say all hands on deck for Puerto Rico I mean
ALL HANDS ON DECK#AlmostLikePrayinghttps://t.co/BrjBFV8Rry pic.twitter.com/Xvavt0RwdT
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 5, 2017
Taking its title and chorus from the lyrics of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "Maria" from "West Side Story", the song is an upbeat tune which mentions all 78 towns in Puerto Rico in the lyrics.
"The name 'Maria' will forever have a different connotation on the island," Miranda explains to TIME. "Most of us know 'Maria' as the name of a really great song in 'West Side Story', a really great love song." He adds, "My brain started flipping the lyric. 'Say it loud and there's music playing, say it soft and it's almost like praying.' That was half the idea."
"I thought, if I can manage to put every one of the 78 towns in Puerto Rico in the lyric, that's the song. That's what unites us all. Because our traditions emanate from those towns, and they're the source of pride and of power," Miranda continues.
Calling it the catchiest and most "dance-able" song he's ever written, Miranda reveals many of the artists didn't even hear the track before agreeing to be a part of it. "These are just not ordinary times," he says. "So I try to do what I think I do best."
