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Ever since the 17th century, the colonies in North America have been home to various ethnicities, including the Hispanic immigrants, who contributed to forming the unique American identity. If to talk about the Hispanic population in the United States, now it concludes more than 60 million people, after the rates of immigration in America skyrocketed during the 20th century. In many cases, immigrants form or join the closed communities, and the people, who live there, are often not adjusted to the environment of the main population. The musical In the Heights, written by Quiara Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda, depicts various social problems within the Hispanic community on the example of multiple characters. The authors raise the topics such as homesickness, poverty, which results in a lack of possibilities, cultural conflicts, and depression among the immigrant youth. Nina Rosario is the daughter of two hard-working immigrants and the first person in her family to go to college.
Her story is an excellent example of how a person faces an alien environment and gets depressed because of it. Another good example is Usnavi de la Vega – the story’s narrator. He is experiencing homesickness and feels like an unnatural element of the country’s environment. One of the most discouraging issues for immigrants in the United States is that a person may feel like an alien in a new aggressive and sometimes xenophobic surrounding. Thus, the musical shows that the immigrants remain secluded within their communities, lacking the possibilities and education, and measures must be taken by the government to give these people a better future.
First of all, it is essential to note that the environment, which became home for many Hispanic immigrants, makes them feel rejected. In Nina’s case, she encounters a severe gap between herself and her college mates during her first schooling year. For instance, when she talks with Benny about differences in various Spanish dialects, she proclaims that “they spoke different language at Stanford” (Miranda and Hudes 63). This means that even though she is a good scholar and tries to integrate into American society, she cannot be the natural part of the surrounding environment. As for Usnavi, New York has never been a welcoming place for him compared to his home country – the Dominican Republic (Miranda and Hudes 106). After finding his bodega looted, Usnavi expresses his sickness towards his home country and decides to travel there (Miranda and Hudes 100). As Peter Debruge says, “In scene after scene, “In the Heights” acknowledges how hard immigrants must work for their place in this country” (69). Thus the newcomers, who want to take their place in the country, almost constantly feel rejected and have to work harder than the average American.
In addition, bicultural people conduct a big fraction of the Hispanic population; unfortunately, many of them cannot relate to any culture, thus feeling distressed. The term “bicultural” in this case means that second-generation immigrants represent two ethnic identities – their native culture and the American one (Mancenido et al. 1269). Usnavi and Nina are second-generation immigrants, referred to as bicultural people (Ragavan and Cowden 243). Therefore, the fact that they are a part of different, and in some cases, opposing cultures serves as a severe stressing factor (Mancenido et al. 1269). The main reason for it is that the individual’s personal perspective may be distorted due to the conflict of opposing values. As a result, these individuals are highly exposed to distress and anxiety since they cannot relate to any of the mentioned communities, most likely feeling foreign and alien.
Another critical aspect of the immigrant experience in the United States is the lack of opportunities, connections, and proper education, which leads to ever-increasing crime and poverty rates. For instance, the parents of Nina, neither of whom has any educational degree, praise their daughter for going to college, stressing how important education is. Not surprisingly, when Nina fails to complete her first schooling year and returns home, her father says that the girl is “useless, like my father before me” (Miranda and Hudes 36). This way, the author shows that the perspectives both in Latin countries and among Latin immigrants in America appear to be quite unpromising. Given the fact that the environment in the United States has tended to be anti-immigrant for more than ten years, migrant communities encounter low social mobility and high poverty rates (Roche et al. 2328). Thus, the whole community is facing a problem of the inability to climb a social ladder to gain a better job or a proper education.
Finally, the problem resulting from previously mentioned factors is second-generation immigrants’ skepticism towards their prospects in society. After losing her scholarship, Nina is unsure about her being able to gain a proper education to find a suitable job and ensure a bright future. She proclaims that “maybe she should have just stayed home” (Miranda and Hudes 19). This is the author’s way of showing that immigrants’ youth sometimes display incertitude about their future due to the surrounding poverty and xenophobic society. The studies show that higher social optimism has been connected with the economic status of the young person’s family (Roche et al. 2329). Therefore, the rates of optimism are relatively low among Hispanic immigrants in the United States (Roche et al. 2329). Thus, second-generation immigrants often lack the optimism needed to cope with various difficulties and barriers.
There is a clear need to improve the current living conditions of immigrants and the representatives of ethnic minorities; it is important to make the surrounding environment less aggressive, offering more working and education opportunities. Many people, who came to the United States from developing countries to find a better job (Klasen et al. 265). Although they sought opportunities, they did not gain any of them. The country operates as a closed environment. Therefore, any newcomer will be pushed away from education or even citizenship due to the lack of money or connections. Thus, it is important to focus on raising the number of community colleges. Community college is an alternative to standard higher educational facilities (Leo et al. 2). In addition, it is possible to expand the system of scholarship grants to provide capable students with proper education. Giving a first-generation immigrant a feasible opportunity to obtain citizenship is another way of addressing the mentioned issues (Roche et al. 2336). This will provide the communities with a confident outlook on their future in the country, as well as give them the possibility to find an adequately paid job.
Integration of the immigrants in the society is one of the essential needs of the government, especially that of the bilingual and bicultural people. The representative of the minority rarely associates himself and his culture with the country he lives in (Mancenido et al. 1269). In this case, the government must undertake several actions to improve the situation. For example, it is possible to promote biliteracy on a state level. This way, the student will have an opportunity to achieve proficiency in two or more languages, including English and his native language. As a result, the bicultural people will understand that they represent two unique cultures and that they are accepted in both environments. Citizenship is another factor of a person’s integration into society. It allows an individual to take part in the country’s political life and offers him a possibility to invite his family members to live in the United States. More importantly, a citizen cannot be deported; the individual understands that the country cannot be hostile towards him. Thus, an immigrant, integrated into society no longer considers himself a foreigner; he feels a commitment towards his new country.
Finally, there is a need to address the issue of skepticism and depression among the immigrant youth by providing them with an understanding that they have various social possibilities regardless of their level of income. It is essential to understand that many young second-generation immigrants displayed higher levels of optimism towards their future when they were provided with social programs, for example with community college scholarships (Roche et al. 2336). This means that the offered possibilities provide individuals with a more optimistic approach. The government might also aim at reducing the levels of marginalization of Latin American adolescents (Roche et al. 2336). It is important to promote group therapy facilities to individuals with social anxiety and depression. This way, an adolescent can gain support from the representatives of his community as well as learn how to maintain an optimistic approach towards his prospects (Roche et al. 2336). In addition, many young Latin American-origin people express a more firm approach to their future when their parents obtain United States citizenship. Therefore, it is imperative to raise the rates of optimism and hope among the youth to increase their productivity and performance.
The stories of several characters in In the Heights musical is the author’s way to show an immigrant or an individual of immigrant origin struggles with the hard conditions, caused by an aggressive environment. In the case of Usnavi de la Vega, his lack of integration into society and difficult childhood made him doubt his belonging to the place he lives in. Nina Rosario, a promising student, who wanted to overcome the financial difficulties to gain an education, was faced with an alien culture of wealthy American students. Because of her inability to work two jobs and receive an education at the same time, she could not continue with her studies. However, at the end of the story, each character overcomes their inner and outer troubles. Nina understands that she must go on with her life and do anything possible to prosper in the future (Miranda and Hudes 133). As for Usnavi, he understands that he belongs to the place where he lives (Miranda and Hudes 153). This story gives a reader an understanding of how important it is to give possibilities and hope for a better future to any individual, who came to the United States to seek opportunities.
Works Cited
Debruge, Peter. “In the Heights.” Variety, vol. 352, no. 4, p. 69, 2021.
Klasen, Stephan, and Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann. Poverty, Inequality and Migration in Latin Amerika. NED-New edition, 2008.
Leo, Aaron, et al. “Aspiration and Opportunity: First-Generation Immigrants and Refugees at Community College.” Community College Review, 2021, Web.
Mancenido, Amanda, et al. “Examining Psychological Distress Across Intersections of Immigrant Generational Status, Race, Poverty, and Gender.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 56, pp. 1269–1274, 2020, Web.
Miranda, Lin-Manuel, and Quiara A Hudes. In the Heights. Applause, 2008
Roche, Kathleen et al. “The Contemporary Anti-Immigrant Environment and Latin American-origin Adolescents’ Perceived Futures: A Phenomenographic Content Analysis.”Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 30, pp. 2328–2339, 2021, Web.
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