Lin-Manuel Miranda is an incredibly busy guy. Production is already underway on the adaptation of his In the Heights music, where Miranda will play the “Piragua Guy.” He’s also executive producing a documentary on Rita Moreno and finishing up filming on the HBO miniseries His Dark Materials. Yet, despite his hectic schedule, he’s also made time to ensure that those who only speak Spanish can enjoy his work.
In a recent interview with People Chica, Miranda announced he’s a global ambassador for TheaterEars, an app that allows those who want or need to watch a movie in Spanish to do so.
“This is so that you and your abuela can go see the same movie,” Miranda said. “When I heard about the app and how it worked, I just thought, ‘I wish this was around when my abuela was around so that she could take me to the movies and have the same amount of fun watching as me.”
It’s as simple as picking one’s language and kicking back, according to Miranda. With Latinos being the biggest movie-going audience, it’s confounding that these translators aren’t more ubiquitous.
“We are the ones who go out to the movies and we go as a family,” he added. “The fact that you now have this app that allows you to enjoy the film in your language of choice is really exciting.”
With a big name like Miranda supporting TheaterEars, here’s hoping that we see more advancement in this area. Our families deserve to enjoy a day of the movies, too.
In the Heights will be released in 2020.