#Daniela Vega 1

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: A Killer's Game by Isabella Maldonado

Series: Daniela Vega #1Author: Isabella MaldonadoPublisher: Thomas & MercerReleased: June 1, 2023Received: ARC Find it on Goodreads | More Thriller Reviews Book Summary: Daniela “Dani” Vega is an ex-Army Ranger and current FBI Agent. She’s also a talented codebreaker…and she just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to witness a murder. This sets off a chain of events that…

[brucedinsman]

Book Review: A Killer's Game by Isabella Maldonado

  A Killer’s Game (Daniela Vega #1) Kindle A Killer’s Game by Isabella MaldonadoMy rating: 5 of 5 starsWOW! Real Action Hero  As many of you now know, the author is/was one the first female Latina FBI agents to carry out missions like this throughout her career. So yes to authentic, yes to action and the intrigue, but I could have done without the language that seems to pervade crime drama these…

[broadwayfangirl222]

The official new voices for Hazbin Hotel pt. 2 (Pt. 1)

Fun Fact for Daphne Rubin-Vega, she was the original Mimi in Rent and was Daniela in the 'In the Heights' movie

[ueberdemnebelmeer]

it's been a fruitful year of discoveries, rediscoveries and deeper dives into discographies i wasn't as familiar with so coming up with a trimmed-down selection was challenging but here's my own 2023 "wrapped"!

2023 RELEASES

💿 "genshin impact: millelith's watch" soundtrack disc 1 [and it has to be disc 1], hoyo-mix — i know nothing about it other than it being a video game, loove the music tho

💿 "ok. respira" + "red light (EP)", elodie — are they good? it's radio-friendly pop and EDM but do i like them? absolutely

🎵 i wanted to include paranoïa, angels, true love by christine and the queens but despite having listened to it in its entirety a bunch of times i definitely picked favourites and slightly ignored the rest? so: "tears can be so soft" + "angels crying in my bed" + "marvin descending" + "to be honest"

🎵 same hat for so!yoon!'s episode 1: love -> "in (void)" [one of thee most intros] + "smoke sprite" [give me a solo version i beg u] + "till the sun goes up" + "exit"

🎵 "de selby (part 1)", hozier

🎵 "nothing lasts forever", sevdaliza feat. grimes

🎵 "tik tak tok", silica gel feat. so!yoon!

🎵 "床 (lie)", no party for cao dong

🎵 "ghosts again", depeche mode

K-POP (and related) CORNER: "psycho", jun 🌸 "god of music" + "super" + "fire", seventeen 🌸 "the rizzness" + "guilty", taemin 🌸 "rover" + "sinner", kai 🌸 "coolAs", key 🌸 "o (circle)", onew 🌸 "10x", shinee 🌸 "nevertheless", billlie 🌸 "golden hour", mark lee 🌸 "screen time", epik high feat. hoshi 🌸 "attitude", fromis_9 🌸 "fighting", BSS feat. lee youngji 🌸 "better things" + "drama", aespa

(RE)DISCOVERED IN 2023

💿 listened to kino for the first time, fell in love! i've had the black album (кончится лето/konchitsya leto, муравейник/muraveynik & кукушка/kukushka 😘👌) on rotation lately but i have a bunch of faves you can send an ask about if you like <3

💿 delved deeper into cocteau twins' discography but i basically played "heaven or las vegas" [been waiting for a copy to drop at the local used cd stores to no avail] and this faye wong x cocteau twins playlist *a lot*

💿 also had a massive depeche mode phase in the spring; tended to stick to their 80s/90s releases and "violator" is probably their most popular album but for good reason!! do check "waiting for the night" from it + this is my tag for further track recs

💿 "bié records meets shika shika" — it's a project from two labels, one beijing-based the other argentinian, whose artists marry electronica with ambient and folk music; they matched their artists together to remix each other and this compilation is the result

💿 "raven", kelela

💿 "trececerotres (EP)", daniela lalita

🎵 "a pure person (單純的人)", lim giong — one of the best opening scenes in cinema ever! millennium mambo's soundtrack has been temporarily taken down from spotify so you have to look for it in chinese characters

🎵 "dancing elephants", rochelle jordan — specifically this performance

🎵 "yo-soul", lim kim

🎵 "spring breeze", hiperson — love love the production here

🎵 teresa teng's cover of "長崎は 今日も雨だった" (a rainy day in nagasaki)

[automaticlovercomputer]

Los Mejores Restaurantes de Madrid

Los Mejores Restaurantes de Madrid: Guía Completa para Disfrutar de la Gastronomía Madrileña

Madrid es una ciudad que se destaca no solo por su historia y cultura, sino también por su vibrante escena gastronómica. Desde restaurantes de alta cocina hasta bares de tapas tradicionales, la capital española ofrece una gran variedad de opciones para los amantes de la buena comida. Si estás planeando salir a comer en Madrid y quieres conocer los mejores lugares para una experiencia inolvidable, esta guía es para ti.

1. Restaurantes de Alta Cocina en Madrid

Madrid cuenta con varios restaurantes galardonados con estrellas Michelin que son destinos obligados para quienes buscan una experiencia culinaria de lujo. Estos son algunos de los mejores:

DiverXO: Con el chef Dabiz Muñoz a la cabeza, DiverXO es famoso por su cocina innovadora y su atrevida presentación. Ofrece una experiencia multisensorial que redefine los límites de la gastronomía.

Coque: Un restaurante con tres estrellas Michelin donde el chef Mario Sandoval combina técnicas modernas con sabores tradicionales. Destaca su carta de vinos y su atención al detalle en cada plato.

2. Restaurantes de Cocina Tradicional Madrileña

Para probar la auténtica comida madrileña, nada mejor que visitar restaurantes especializados en platos tradicionales. Aquí podrás degustar recetas típicas como el cocido madrileño, los callos y el bacalao a la madrileña.

Casa Lucio: Este restaurante es famoso por sus huevos rotos, un plato clásico madrileño que no te puedes perder. Es un lugar con historia, frecuentado por celebridades y figuras públicas.

Sobrino de Botín: Fundado en 1725, este es el restaurante más antiguo del mundo según el Guinness. Sus especialidades son el cochinillo y el cordero asado, ambos cocinados en horno de leña.

3. Restaurantes de Tapas en Madrid

Las tapas son una parte esencial de la experiencia gastronómica en Madrid, y hay una gran variedad de bares y restaurantes que ofrecen estas pequeñas delicias.

El Sur: Ubicado en el barrio de Lavapiés, El Sur es conocido por su excelente selección de tapas y raciones a precios razonables. Su tortilla de patatas y sus croquetas son muy populares.

Taberna La Daniela: Una taberna de ambiente auténtico donde puedes disfrutar de tapas tradicionales como el jamón ibérico, la ensaladilla rusa y el queso manchego.

4. Restaurantes Internacionales en Madrid

Madrid también es un excelente lugar para explorar sabores de otras partes del mundo. La ciudad cuenta con una creciente oferta de restaurantes internacionales que satisfacen todos los paladares.

StreetXO: También dirigido por Dabiz Muñoz, StreetXO ofrece una fusión de sabores asiáticos y mediterráneos en un ambiente desenfadado y moderno.

Nakeima: Un restaurante de inspiración asiática que se ha vuelto famoso por su estilo de cocina fusión y su particular servicio sin reservas. La experiencia es única, ya que aquí cada plato es una sorpresa.

5. Restaurantes Veganos y Vegetarianos en Madrid

La oferta de restaurantes veganos y vegetarianos ha crecido considerablemente en Madrid, con opciones que van desde platos tradicionales adaptados hasta creaciones innovadoras.

Vega: Situado en Malasaña, Vega es conocido por su comida casera vegana elaborada con ingredientes locales y de temporada. Los platos son saludables y sabrosos, perfectos para quienes buscan opciones sostenibles.

B13: Este restaurante vegano tiene una de las mejores hamburguesas veganas de la ciudad. También ofrece una variedad de tapas veganas que incluyen patatas bravas y croquetas.

6. Mercados Gastronómicos en Madrid

Además de los restaurantes, Madrid cuenta con mercados gastronómicos donde se pueden probar diferentes platos en un mismo lugar. Estos espacios son perfectos para quienes quieren degustar una gran variedad de sabores.

Mercado de San Miguel: Situado en el centro de Madrid, este mercado es ideal para disfrutar de tapas gourmet, mariscos frescos y vinos de la región. Es un lugar popular tanto para locales como para turistas.

Mercado de San Antón: En el barrio de Chueca, este mercado ofrece una gran variedad de platos y productos de alta calidad. Su terraza es un lugar perfecto para relajarse y disfrutar de las vistas.

Consejos para Disfrutar de los Mejores Restaurantes en Madrid

Haz una reserva: Algunos restaurantes populares suelen estar llenos, así que se recomienda reservar con antelación, especialmente en lugares de alta cocina.

Prueba platos locales: Aprovecha la oportunidad para probar platos típicos madrileños como el cocido, los churros con chocolate o el bocadillo de calamares.

Explora diferentes barrios: Cada barrio tiene su propia oferta gastronómica, desde el tradicional Barrio de La Latina hasta el moderno Malasaña.

Con esta guía, tendrás una experiencia gastronómica completa en Madrid. ¡Disfruta de la riqueza culinaria que esta ciudad tiene para ofrecer!

Read To Know More

[theopulenthq]

+1 Wanted Connections Added!

ELIANA DE DIAZ, our DANIELA VEGA, from BRAZIL (CHILE), is looking for their CO-CONSPIRATOR. This is a ROMANTIC, PLATONIC, OR NEGATIVE connection that looks like EMMA D’ARCY, JUNG SUNG IL, LAURA HARRIER, BOYD HOLBROOK, JOHN BOYEGA, UTP. They are [30 - 45] years old. Everything else you need to know is under the cut! Please DON’T (BUT CAN IF YOU WANT!) contact the writer @WHISPCRINGS.

[when eliana decided to order an assassination on king antonio, she went to your muse for assistance. eliana may have made the order, but it was your muse who found the willing body foolish enough to attempt the king’s life. now, you and eliana are bound by this sin. you keep one another close — waiting to see if the other falters. your muse’s occupation is up to you, just need a decent reason that the two are usually around one another (ex: bodyguard, lady-in-waiting, military member, governess). open to this connection navigating loads of different avenues, especially as to reasons why your muse agreed and their opinion of eliana now]

[dear-indies]

I was wondering if you have to have a latina action heroine, with a Michelle Rodriguez energy, but around ten years younger.

Rosa Salazar (1985) Peruvian / German, English, Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish - Brand New Cherry Flavor.

Alyssa Diaz (1985) Colombian, Mexican, Irish - The Rookie.

Jaina Lee Ortiz (1986) Puerto Rican - Station 19.

Audrey Esparza (1986) Mexican - Power Book IV: Force.

Monica Raymund (1986) Dominican Republic / English, Ashkenazi Jewish - is bisexual - Hightown.

Nomi Ruiz (1986) Puerto Rican - is trans.

Diane Guerrero (1986) Colombian - Doom Patrol.

Francia Raisa (1988) Mexican / Honduran.

Daniela Vega (1989) Chilean - is trans.

Linn da Quebrada (1990) Afro-Brazilian - is trans.

Christian Serratos (1990) Mexican / Italian - The Walking Dead.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (1991) African-American 1/4 Puerto Rican - is trans.

Jennifer Cheon Garcia (1992) Korean / Mexican - Van Helsing.

Adria Arjona (1992) Puerto Rican / Guatemalan - 6 Underground.

Here you go!

[abcnewspr]

HIGHLIGHTS FOR ABC NEWS’ ‘GMA3: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW,’ JULY 24-28

The following report highlights the programming of ABC’s “GMA3: What You Need to Know” during the week of July 24-28. “GMA3: What You Need to Know” is a one-hour program co-anchored by Eva Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan, with Dr. Jennifer Ashton as chief health and medical correspondent. The news program airs weekdays at 1:00 p.m. EDT | 12:00 p.m. CDT on ABC and 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EDT on ABC News Live.

Highlights of the week include the following:

Monday, July 24 — ABC News correspondent Phil Lipof goes behind the scenes with DJ Steve Aoki for Prime Playlist series; Money Monday with financial influencer “Mrs. Dow Jones” Haley Sacks; Broadway performer Conrad Ricamora (“Here Lies Love”)

Tuesday, July 25 — Choreographers Sean Bankhead and Laurieann Gibson; restaurant owner and chef Frank Olivieri with cheesesteak demonstration

Wednesday, July 26 —Psychotherapist and author Dr. Morgan Cutlip (“Love Your Kids Without Losing Yourself”); Deals and Steals with ABC e-commerce editor Tory Johnson

Thursday, July 27 — Lifestyle and beauty expert Milly Almodovar; magicians Penn & Teller on their Las Vegas residency

Friday, July 28 — ABC News multiplatform reporter Jaclyn Lee on wedding expenses; Faith Friday with author Alisa Keeton (“The Body Revelation”); a chat and performance by Fitz and the Tantrums

ABC Media Relations Brooks Lancaster Brooks.Lancaster@abc.com

Daniela Urso Daniela.Urso.-nd@abc.com

-- ABC --

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

A Killer’s Game by Isabella Maldonado

Daniella Vega #1

Puzzles, codes, and games are right up Daniella “Dani” Vega’s alley ~ Her skillset is just what is required for this first book in a new series!

What I liked:

* Dani: intelligent, lethal, team player, leadership qualities, loves her brother and sister, retired Army Ranger, works for the FBI, strategic thinker, hero-qualities, looking forward to knowing more about her as the series progresses

* Her backstory and how it determined the profession she chose to follow

* The thought processes Dani used to successfully solve what needed to be done to move forward

* That the story, and Dani, grew on me – I have to admit it took awhile to get into the book and considered not finishing but am glad I read to the end as it all came together well

* Being able to easily visualize what was happening

* The fantasy gameplayer and TV-movie feel of the story – though it meant suspending belief more than a few times

* That at least one of the bad guys wasn’t totally evil

* Meeting the characters that will probably play parts in future books of the series – depending on what Nina’s next assignment is.

* Getting in on the ground level of a new series

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Thinking about how twisted and evil some people can be

Did I enjoy this book? Eventually

Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

BLURB

An FBI agent with a background in cryptography. A brilliant game maker bent on revenge. A deadly battle of wits and wills. An ingenious thriller from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Cipher. FBI agent and former military codebreaker Daniela “Dani” Vega witnesses a murder on a Manhattan sidewalk. The victim is chief of staff for a powerful New York senator. The assassin turned informant is Gustavo Toro. His code: hit the target and don’t ask questions. When Dani suspects a complex conspiracy, the only way to take down the mastermind is from the inside, forcing her to partner with Toro. Together they must infiltrate the inner circle at a remote facility. Except it’s a trap. For all of them. Locked in a subterranean labyrinth and held captive by an unseen host, Dani, Toro, and others must fight for their lives. Now Dani must stay undercover, unravel a bizarre conspiracy, and survive lethal puzzles. But will Toro be friend or foe? Because in this killer’s game, everything is real: the paranoia, the desperation, and the body count. And only one person can make it out alive.

[callmeanxietygirl]

¡GERARDO ULLOA 🇲🇽 ES EL REY 👑 DEL CICLISMO DE MONTAÑA DE AMÉRICA! 🌎

EL MEXICANO GANA EL 🥇 CAMPEONATO PANAMERICANO MTB BRASIL 2023 🇧🇷 Y LA PLAZA OLÍMPICA DIRECTA PARA PARÍS 2024 🇫🇷

30 abril

¡El mexicano Gerardo Ulloa se convirtió en doble rey del Campeonato Panamericano de ciclismo de montaña MTB Congonhas, Brasil 2023!

Con un dominio aplastante y en solitario desde la primera vuelta, Ulloa se quedó con la medalla de oro del XCO cross country individual del campeonato continental, en el que hace dos días ya se había quedado con el campeonato del XCC short track.

Por si fuera poco, con su oro individual, el oriundo de Guadalajara de 26 años de edad obtiene la plaza directa para París 2024, los que serán sus segundos Juegos Olímpicos, luego de su lugar 23 en Tokio 2020.

▶️ CAMPEONATO PANAMERICANO 🌎 MTB BRASIL 2023

▪️ XCO Cross country Elite varonil

🥇 Gerardo Ulloa 🇲🇽 MEX 1h27’05”

🥈 Gunnar Holmgren 🇨🇦 CAN 1h27’45”

🥉 Joel Contreras 🇦🇷 ARG 1h28’47”

4. Ulan Bastos 🇧🇷 BRA 1h28’59”

5. Henrique Avancini 🇧🇷 BRA 1h29’08”

6. Leandre Bouchard 🇨🇦 CAN 1h29’14”

7. Martín Vidaurre 🇨🇱 CHI 1h29’38”

22. Jaime Miranda 🇲🇽 MEX 1h35'27"

23. Antonio Sandoval 🇲🇽 MEX 1h35'38"

27. Angel Barrón 🇲🇽 MEX 1h36'14"

29. Amado Martínez 🇲🇽 MEX -1 vuelta

40. Carlos Miranda 🇲🇽 MEX -2 vueltas

50. Juan Jiménez 🇲🇽 MEX -2 vueltas

Esta es la primera presea de oro individual cross country para Ulloa en un Campeonato Panamericano, ya que había sido plata en dos ediciones, en Catamarca, Argentina 2022, y en Aguascalientes 2019.

DANI CAMPUZANO Y MONSE RODRÍGUEZ EN 4 Y 12 DEL XCO ELITE FEMENIL

Las mexicanas Daniela Campuza y Monserrat Rodríguez en las posiciones 4 y 12, respectivamente, fueron las mejores mexicanas en el XCO cross country Elite femenil.

▶️ CAMPEONATO PANAMERICANO 🌎 MTB BRASIL 2023

▪️ XCO Cross country Elite femenil

🥇 Kate Courtney 🇺🇲 1h29'03

🥈 Kelsey Urban 🇺🇲 +21"

🥉 Raiza Goulao 🇧🇷 +21"

4. Daniela Campuzano 🇲🇽 +1'30"

12. Monserrat Rodríguez 🇲🇽 +5'40"

24. Fátima Hijar 🇲🇽 -1 vuelta

25. Elizabeth Rodríguez 🇲🇽 -1 vuelta

31. Mónica Vega 🇲🇽 -2 vueltas

38. Estefanía Medina 🇲🇽 -2 vueltas

41. Arantxa González 🇲🇽 -3 vueltas

[tessalovesbway]

9 Things In the Heights and Rent have in common

1. Both Musicals are set in New York City. 2. Both Musicals have a character named Benny. Okay, Rent’s Benny full name is  Benjamin Coffin III, but most people call him Benny.  3. Rent has a song called Without You and in In the Heights they belt out ‘’Without you’’ in the song Blackout. Sounds familiar right? 4. In both musicals a beloved character dies. I don’t know what it is with musicals, but in a lot of musicals people die. These musicals are no exeption. 5. The most important character are dreamers. They all try to persue there dreams, but in both musicals they struggle to persue them.  6. Daphne Ruben Vega was in both. She was Rent’s OBC Mimi and she played Daniela in the In The Heights Movie.  7. Both Shows won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Rent won the award back in 1996 and In the Heights won the award in 2008. 8. A lot of times a show more than one person are behind the music and lyrics. Some people only write the book or just focus on the music. Jonathan Larson (Rent) and Lin Manuel Miranda (In the Heights) have written both.  9. Both shows have a lesbian couple (at least in the movie). We all know Joanne and Maureen (Rent) are a couple. In the movie of In the Heights Carla and Daniela also form a couple (and in the original stage production they were just close friends). 

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the “Bonafides” guest cast

Bill Goldberg as DOJ Agent Lance Hamilton Lance's first appearance since season 11's "Watch Over Me"

On the set with LL Cool J.  

Ski Carr as Percy Vander Guest roles include Crossing Jordan, King Pin, CSI: Miami, Karen Sisco, Arrested Development, Cursed, Fight Night Legacy, Gang Related, Workaholics, Blue Bloods, Chicago Fire, Conviction, Hand of God, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD and Family Business.

Jocko Willink as Noah “Herbie” Herbert Willink is a real deal Navy SEAL, serving with SEAL Teams 1, 2 and 3.  He earned a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.  After retiring from the Navy, he wrote a few books on leadership, appeared on podcasts and started his own podcast.  This is his first acting role.

Christian George as Henrik Vuksan George returns as criminal Henrick Vuksan from "Omni" and "Head of the Snake".

Cindy Dolenc as Ryan Logue Was Kate Quinn in La Femme Nikita on USA Network back in the day.

Traci Belushi as Ms. Wilson Was Zarius in a number of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series and Pippettes in BeetleBorgs.  Guest roles include Sweet Valley High, USA High, Martial Law, Criminal Minds, See Dad Run, The Middle, How to Get Away with Murder, American Crime Story, I'm Dying Up Here, Dave, SWAT, The Morning Show and The Rookie.

Fredrik Eklund as Rexford Blake Eklund was a regular broker on Million Dollar Listing New York until January of this year.  Prior to his real estate career, Eklund was an adult film performer using the name Tag Eriksson.

On the set with ECO, Christian George and Daniela Ruah.  

Gregory Shelby as Scott Reid Appeared in a number of short films with several soap credits (Days of Our Lives, General Hospital).

Bradley Dodds as Bohdan Amantas Guest roles include Crossing Jordan, Las Vegas, Entourage, CSI: NY, Hannah Montana, True Blood, Hollywood Heights, 2 Broke Girls, Sullivan & Sons, Major Crimes, Shameless and Mayans MC.

Eugene Young as Navy Seaman Harold Forest Was Min-Tae in Squid Game.  Had guest roles in Revenge, Jane the Virgin, Criminal Minds, Unforgettable and Veep.

Trailer photo.  

Duncan Campbell as NCIS Special Agent Castor After top billing last week, Duncan Campbell and Agent Castor are down near the bottom.

Beckett Gunderson as Young Callen This is a different Young Callen than any of the other Young Callens we've had in the past (the season 13 premiere had Preston Edwards as Young Callen).  Gunderson was in an episode of Station 19.

Chris Mathieu as Humphrey Appeared in a number of independently made television series.

Written by:  Kyle Harimoto wrote “Omni”, “Merry Evasion”, “Chernoff, K”, “Command and Control” as episode 150, “Granger, O.”, “Ghost Gun”, “Kulinda”, “767”, “Se Murio El Payaso”, “Assets”/“Liabilities”, “Venganza”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us" (Lance Hamilton episode), “Let Fate Decide” (season 11 premiere), “Decoy” (Lance Hamilton episode), “Answers” , “Watch Over Me” (Lance Hamilton episode), “Cash Flow” and "Fukushu".   He co-wrote “Three Hearts”, “Leipei”, “Humbug”, both ends of the “Matryoshka” two-parter, “Smokescreen” part two, “Searching” (Lance Hamilton episode), “A Fait Acompli” and “A Tale of Two Igors” (season 12 finale).

Directed by:  Terrence O’Hara directed "The Only Easy Day”, “Brimstone”, “The Bank Job”, “Borderline”, “Tin Soldiers”, “The Job”, “Backstopped”, “Crimeleon”, “Blye, K.” Part Two, “San Voir” Part Two, “End Game”, “Paper Soldiers”, “Descent”, “Ascension”, “Fish Out of Water”, “Blaze of Glory”, “Command and Control” (episode 150), “Matryoshka” Part Two, “Belly of the Beast”, “Payback”, “Mountebank”, “Asesinos”, "Searching", “Yellow Jack”, “Raising the Dead”, “Overdue", "Red Rover, Red Rover" and "All the Little Things".

[writemarcus]

HITTING NEW HEIGHTS

BY MARCUS SCOTT

ORIGINAL RENT STAR DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA TAKES YOU INSIDE THE IN THE HEIGHTS FILM

Qué quiere decir sueñito?” The disembodied voice of a girlchild ponders. “It means ‘little dream,’” responds an unseen authoritative figure, his feathery tenor with a soft rasp and tender lilt implying there’s more to the story.

Teal waves crash against the white sand coastal lines of the Dominican Republic and a quartet of children plead with the voice to illuminate and tell a story. Usnavi de la Vega (played by Anthony Ramos), sporting his signature newsboy flat cap and full goatee, begins to narrate and weave a tall-tale from the comforts of his beachside food cart: “This is the story of a block that was disappearing. Once upon a time in a faraway land called Nueva York, en barrio called Washington Heights. Say it, so it doesn’t disappear,” he decrees.

And we’re off, this distant magic kingdom ensnared within the winding urban sprawl of farthest-uptown Manhattan, the music of the neighborhood chiming with infinite possibilities: a door-latch fastening on tempo, a ring of keys sprinkling a sweet embellishment, the splish-splash of a garden hose licking the city streets like a drumstick to a snare fill, a manhole cover rotating like vinyl on a get-down turntable, the hiss of paint cans spraying graffiti like venoms from cobras and roll-up steel doors rumbling, not unlike the ultra-fast subway cars zigzagging underground. So begins the opening moments of In the Heights, the Warner Bros. stage-to-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and librettist Quiara Alegría Hudes (Water by the Spoonful) that is set to premiere in movie theatres and on HBO Max on June 11, 2021.

This stunning patchwork of visuals and reverberations combine to create a defiant and instantly memorable collage of inner-city living not seen since Walter Hill’s 1979 cult classic The Warriors or West Side Story, the iconic romantic musical tragedy directed on film by Robert Wise and original Broadway director Jerome Robbins. With Jon M. Chu at the helm, the musical feature has all the trademarks of the director’s opulent signature style: Striking spectacles full of stark colors, va-va-voom visuals, ooh-la-la hyperkinetic showstopping sequences and out-of-this-world destination locations.

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A Kind of Priestess

Joining the fray of proscenium stage vets in the film is Broadway star Daphne Rubin-Vega, who originated the role of Mimi in the Off-Broadway and Broadway original productions of Rent. She returns to major motion pictures after a decade since her last outing in Nancy Savoca’s Union Square, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. When we caught up with Rubin-Vega, she was hard at work, in-between rehearsals with her In the Heights co-star Jimmy Smits on Two Sisters and a Piano, the 1999 play by Miami-based playwright Nilo Cruz, a frequent collaborator. Rubin-Vega netted a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as the enraptured Conchita in Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics; that same year Cruz was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making him the first Latino playwright to receive the honor. Despite significant global, social and economic disruption, especially within the arts community, Rubin-Vega has been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People around me have [contracted] COVID… My father-in-law just had it. I’m very fortunate,” Rubin-Vega said. “This collective experience, it’s funny because it’s a year now and things seem better. Last year it was, like, ‘Damn, how inconvenient!’ The one comfort was that, you know, it’s happening to every one of us. That clarity that this is a collective experience is much more humbling and tolerable to me.”

The last time Rubin-Vega graced Washington Heights on screen or stage, she acted in the interest of survival and hunger as a probationer released after a 13-year stint in prison and given a new lease on life as an unlicensed amateur masseuse in the basement of an empanada shop in Empanada Loca, The Spalding Gray-style Grand Guignol horror play by Aaron Mark at the LAByrinth Theater Company in 2015. In In the Heights she plays Daniela, an outrageously vivacious belting beautician with a flair for the dramatics, forced to battle a price-gouging real estate bubble in the wake of gentrification.

“She’s like the deputy or the priestess,” Rubin-Vega said. “Owning a salon means that you have a lot of information; you’re in a hub of community, of information, of sharing… it’s also where you go for physical grooming. It’s a place where women were empowered to create their own work and it is a place of closeness, spiritual advice, not-so-spiritual advice. Physical attention.”

She said, “Daniela also being an elder; I think she’s not so much a person that imposes order on other people. She’s there to bring out the best—she leads with love. She tells it like it is. I don’t think she sugar-coats things. What you see is what you get with Daniela. It’s refreshing; she has a candor and sure-footedness that I admire.”

With the film adaptation, Chu and Hudes promised to expand the universe of the Upper Manhattan-based musical, crafting new dimensions and nuances to two characters in particular: Daniela and hairdresser Carla, originally portrayed as business associates and gossip buddies in the stage musical. On the big screen they are reimagined as romantic life partners. Stephanie Beatriz, known to audiences for her hilarious turn as the mysterious and aloof Detective Rosa Diaz in the police procedural sitcom romp “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” co-stars as the fast-talking firecracker, Carla.

It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.

Where Is Home?

“Well, Quiara and Jon really expanded on what Lin and Quiara originally created and now they’re partners—and not just work partners, right? But they’re life partners,” Beatriz said at a March press event celebrating the release of the film’s two promo trailers. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community, and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continued, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home. I thought that they did such a beautiful job of guiding us to this, really, you know, it’s just a happy functioning relationship that happens to be gay and in the movie. And I love that they did that, because it is such a part of our world.”

Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

Stand-out performances abound, especially with regard to the supporting cast; newcomers Melissa Barrera (in a role originated by Tony Award winner Karen Olivo) and Gregory Diaz IV (replacing three-time Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús) are noteworthy as the aspiring fashion designer Vanessa and budding activist Sonny. Olga Merediz, who earned a Tony Award nomination for originating her role as Abuela Claudia, returns to the silver screen in a captivating performance that will be a contender come award season. However, Rubin-Vega may just be the one to watch. Her performance is incandescent and full of moxie, designed to raise endorphin levels. She leads an ensemble in the rousing “Carnaval del Barrio,” a highlight in the film.

Musical Bootcamp

“We shot in June [2019]. In April, we started musical bootcamp. In May, we started to do the choreography. My big joke was that I would have to get a knee replacement in December; that was in direct relation to all that choreography. I mean, there were hundreds of A-1 dancers in the posse,” Rubin-Vega said. “The family consisted of hundreds of superlative dancers led by Chris[topher] Scott, with an amazing team of dancers like Ebony Williams, Emilio Dosal, Dana Wilson, Eddie Torres Jr. and Princess Serrano. We rehearsed a fair bit. Monday through Friday for maybe five weeks. The first day of rehearsal I met Melissa [Barrera] and Corey [Hawkins], I pretty much hadn’t known everyone yet. I hadn’t met Leslie [Grace] yet. Chris Scott, the choreographer, just went straight into ‘let’s see what you can do.’ It was the first [dance] routine of ‘In The Heights,’ the opening number. He was like, ‘OK, let’s go. Five, six, seven, eight!’”

Rubin-Vega said that she tried to bring her best game, though it had “been a minute” since she had to execute such intricate choreography, noting that they shot the opening number within a day while praising Chu’s work ethic and leadership.

“There was a balance between focus and fun and that’s rare. Everyone was there because they wanted to be there,” she said. “I think back to the day we shot ‘96,000.’ That day it wouldn’t stop raining; [it was] grey and then the sky would clear and we’d get into places and then it would be grey again and so we’d have to wait and just have to endure. But even the bad parts were kind of good, too. Even the hottest days. There were gunshots, there was a fire while we were shooting and we had to shut down, there was traffic and noise and yet every time I looked around me or went into video village and saw the faces in there, I mean…it felt like the only place to be. You want to feel like that in every place you are: The recognition. I could recognize people who look like me. For now on, you cannot say I’ve never seen a Panamanian on film before or a Columbian or a Mexican, you know?”

Another Notion of Beauty

Rubin-Vega’s professional relationship with the playwright Hudes extends to 2015, when she was tapped to [participate in the] workshop [production of]  Daphne’s Dive. Under the direction of Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and starring alongside Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Orange Is the New Black”), the play premiered Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center the following year. Rubin-Vega also starred in Miss You Like Hell, the cross-country road musical by Hudes and Erin McKeown, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2016 before it transferred to The Public Theater in 2018. With her participation in the production of In the Heights, she is among the few to have collaborated with all of the living Latinx playwrights to have won the Pulitzer Prize; Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful, while Miranda took home the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Hamilton. Speaking on her multiple collaborations over the years, Rubin-Vega also acknowledged having known Miranda years before they would join voices.

“Lin to me is like a little bro or legacy; he’s a direct descent to me from [Rent author] Jonathan Larson, which is a bigger sort of all-encompassing arch,” she said, though she stressed that she auditioned like everyone else, landing the role after two or three callbacks. “Quiara and I have a wonderful working and personal relationship, I think. Which isn’t to say I had dibs by any means because…it’s a business that wants the best for itself, I suppose. […] So, when I walked in, I was determined to really give it my best.”

Life During and After Rent

Rubin-Vega has built an impressive resume over the course of her career, singing along with the likes of rock stars like David Bowie and starring in a multitude of divergent roles on Broadway and off. From a harrowing Fantine in Les Misérables and a co-dependent Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire to a sinister Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show, her evolution into the atypical character actor and leading lady can be traced back 25 years to January 25, 1996, when Larson’s groundbreaking musical Rent, a retelling of Giacomo Puccini’s 19th-century opera La Bohème, premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop. On the morning of the first preview, Larson suffered an aortic dissection, likely from undiagnosed Marfan’s syndrome and died at the age of 35, just ten days shy of what would have been his 36th birthday.

On April 29, 1996, due to overwhelming popularity, Rent transferred to Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, tackling contemporary topics the Great White Way had rarely seen, such as poverty and class warfare during the AIDS epidemic in New York City’s gritty East Village at the turn of the millennium. Rubin-Vega would go on to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as sex kitten Mimi Márquez, an HIV-positive heroin addict and erotic dancer.

  The show became a cultural phenomenon, receiving several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Rubin-Vega and members of the original Broadway cast were suddenly overnight sensations, recording “Seasons of Love” alongside music icon Stevie Wonder, receiving a photo shoot with Vanity Fair and landing the May 13, 1996 cover of Newsweek. Throughout its 12-year Broadway run, many of the show’s original cast members and subsequent replacements would go on to be stars, including Renée Elise Goldsberry, who followed in Rubin-Vega’s footsteps to play the popular character before originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

When the screen adaptation of Rent hit cinemas in 2005 under the direction of Chris Columbus, Rubin-Vega’s conspicuous absence came as a blow to longtime fans. The confluence of pregnancy with the casting and filming process of Rent hindered her from participating at the time. The role was subsequently given to movie star Rosario Dawson.

“First of all, if you’re meant to be in a film, you’re meant to be in it,” Rubin-Vega said. “That’s just the way it goes. It took a quarter of a century but this [In the Heights] is a film that I wanted to make, that I felt the elements sat right. I always felt that Rent was a little bit darker than all that. Rent to me is Rated R. In The Heights is not. It’s also a testament. Unless it’s sucking your soul and killing you softly or hardly, just stick with it. This is a business and I keep forgetting it’s a business because actors just want to show art. So, it’s really wonderful when you get a chance to say what you mean and mean what you say with your work. It’s a really wonderful gift.”

Rarely-Explored Themes

Like Larson’s award-winning show and the film adapted from it, In The Heights is jam-packed with hard-hitting subject matter, addressing themes of urban blight, immigration, gentrification, cultural identity, assimilation and U.S. political history. When Rubin-Vega’s character Daniela and her partner were priced out of the rent for her salon, most of her clientele moved to the Grand Concourse Historic District in the Bronx. Her salon, a bastion of the community, is met with a polar response when she announces she’s joining the mass exodus with the other victims of gentrification who were pushed out by rising rents. The news is met with negative response from long-time patrons who refuse to take the short commute to the new location. Daniela counters, “Our people survived slave ships, we survived Taino [indigenous Caribbean people] genocide, we survived conquistadores and dictators…you’re telling me we can’t survive the D train to Grand Concourse?”

The question is humorous, but also insinuates a more nuanced understanding of the AfroLatinidad experience in the Western world. The film also looks at the American Dream with a naturalistic approach. Leslie Grace, who plays Nina Rosario, a first-generation college student returning from her freshman year at Stanford University and grappling with finances and the expectations of her community, noted that while her character “finds [herself] at some point at a fork in the road,” she may not have the luxury to be indecisive because of the pressures put on by family, community and country.  

“The struggle of the first-generation Americans in the Latino community is not talked about a lot because it’s almost like a privilege,” Grace asserted. “You feel like it’s a privilege to talk about it. But there is a lot of identity crisis that comes with it and I think we explore that.” Speaking on the character, she elaborated: “Home for her is where her heart is, but also where her purpose is. So, she finds her purpose in doing something outside of herself, greater than herself and going back to Stanford for the people she loves in her community. I really relate to where she’s at, trying to find herself. And I think a lot of other people will, too.”

Worth Singing About

For Miranda, a first-generation Puerto Rican New Yorker that grew up in Inwood at the northernmost tip of Manhattan before attending Wesleyan University where he would develop the musical, this speaks to a larger issue of what defines a home.

“What does ‘home’ even mean? Every character is sort of answering it in a different way,” he said. “For some people, home is somewhere else. For some people, home is like ‘the block’ they’re on. So, that’s worth singing about. It’s worth celebrating in a movie of this size.”

Given the current zeitgeist, it’s no wonder why Chu, Hudes and Miranda decided to pivot with adapting the stage musical for the big screen, leaning in to tackle the plights and predicaments of DREAMers [children of undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship] stateside. In one scene, glimpses of posters at a protest rally read “Immigrant Rights are Human Rights” and “Refugees Are People Too.” Growing up in a multicultural household as a Latina with a Black Latina mother, a white father and a Jewish American stepfather, Rubin-Vega said she was used to being in spaces that were truly multiracial. Nevertheless, there were times when she often felt alien, especially as a du jour rock musical ingenue who looked as she did in the mid-1990s through the 2000s.

“Undocumented people come in different shapes and colors,” she noted. “To be born in a land that doesn’t recognize you, it’s a thing that holds so much horror… so much disgrace happens on the planet because human beings aren’t recognized as such sometimes.”

The film “definitely sheds light on that, but it also talks about having your dream taken away and its human violation—it’s a physical, spiritual, social, cultural violation,” Rubin-Vega said. “There’s a difference between pursuing dreams and being aware of reality. They’re not mutually exclusive. What this film does, it presents a story that is fairly grounded in reality. It’s a musical, it’s over the top… but it reflects a bigger reality, which is like an emotional reality…that people that are challenged on the daily, have incredible resolve, incredible resoluteness and lifeforce.”

She said: “Growing up, looking like me, I got to ingest the same information as everyone else except when it came time to implement my contributions, they weren’t as welcomed or as seen. The dream is to be seen and to be recognized. Maybe I could be an astronaut or an ingenue on Broadway? You can’t achieve stuff that you haven’t imagined. When it talks about DREAMers, it talks about that and it talks about how to not be passive in a culture that would have you think you are passive but to be that change and to dare to be that change.”

Dreams Come True

Dreams are coming true. Alongside the nationwide release of the much-anticipated film, Random House announced it will publish In the Heights: Finding Home, which will give a behind-the-scenes look at the beginnings of Miranda’s 2008 breakout Broadway debut and journey to the soon-to-be-released film adaptation. The table book will chronicle the show’s 20-year voyage from page to stage—from Miranda’s first drawings at the age of 19 to lyric annotations by Miranda and essays written by Hudes to never-before-seen photos from productions around the world and the 2021 movie set. It will be released to the public on June 22, eleven days after the release of the film; an audiobook will be simultaneously released by Penguin Random House Audio.

Hinting at the year-long delay due to the pandemic, Rubin-Vega said, “It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.”

Bigger Dreams

“Jon [Chu], I think, dreams bigger than any of us dare to dream in terms of the size and scope of this,” Miranda said. “We spent our summer [in 2018] on 175th Street. You know, he was committed to the authenticity of being in that neighborhood we [all] grew up in, that we love, but then also when it comes to production numbers, dreaming so big. I mean, this is a big movie musical!”

Miranda continued, “We’re so used to asking for less, just to ask to occupy space, you know? As Latinos, we’re, like, ‘Please just let us make our little movie.’ And Jon, every step of the way, said, like, ‘No, these guys have big dreams. We’re allowed to go that big!’ So, I’m just thrilled with what he did ’cause I think it’s bigger than any of us ever dreamed.”

Speaking at the online press conference, Miranda said, “I’m talking to you from Washington Heights right now! I love it here. The whole [movie] is a love letter to this neighborhood. I think it’s such an incredible neighborhood. It’s the first chapter in so many stories. It’s a Latinx neighborhood [today]. It was a Dominican neighborhood when I was growing up there in the ’80s. But before that it was an Irish neighborhood and Italian. It’s always the first chapter in so many American stories.”

[ruffboijuliaburnsides]

ok SOMEHOW I appear to have missed the announcement way back in late 2019 that Daniela and Carla were gonna be a couple in the In The Heights movie, and found that out TODAY, and can i just tell you that 1) adorable, but 2) HOT DAMN STEPHANIE BEATRIZ AND DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA SHIP FUCK YES!!!!!

[knightinrainbowarmour]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Carla/Daniela (In the Heights) Characters: Carla (In the Heights), Daniela (In the Heights), Cuca (In the Heights), Nina Rosario, Usnavi de la Vega Additional Tags: Slow Burn, First Kiss Summary:

Carla looks tired, eyes puffy from her short sleep and her hair falls messily around her face, but she still looks beautiful, so beautiful in fact, that Daniela feels her mouth go dry in the same instance that heat rushes to her cheeks. It’s now or never, she thinks to herself, the voice in her head joining forces with her heart for the first time in two years. “Lo siento,” her voice comes out as a gravelled whisper, “Carla… I-”

[dear-indies]

Can you please suggest some alt fcs for Ana de Armas, specifically her Knives Out vibe? Ethnicity doesn't matter, I just don't feel comfortable using her anymore. If you've already posted one, I'm sorry, let me know and I'll go look for it! Thanks

Cuban:

Natalie Morales (1985) Cuban - is queer and uses she/they.

Livia Brito (1986) Cuban.

Anabelle Acosta (1987) Cuban [Spanish, possibly other].

Otmara Marrero (1989) Cuban.

Genesis Rodriguez (1989) Venezuelan and Cuban [Spanish, possibly other].

Yany Prado (1991) Cuban.

Jeanine Mason (1991) Cuban.

Dailirelis Perez (1991) Afro-Cuban.

Carmela Zumbado (1991) Cuban.

Other suggestions:

Nathalie Kelley (1984) Argentinian, Peruvian [Quechua], possibly other.

Danielle Keaton (1986) Peruvian [Quechua] and Ashkenazi Jewish - has borderline personality disorder.

Nathalia Dill (1986) Brazilian.

Oona Chaplin (1986) Chilean [Mapuche, Spanish, possibly Romanian] / English, Irish, 1/16th Scottish.

Diane Guerrero (1986) Colombian.

Aislinn Derbez (1986) Mexican.

Monica Raymund (1986) Afro-Domincan / English, Ashkenazi Jewish - is bisexual.

Isis Valverde (1987) Brazilian [Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, 1/16th Lebanese, remote English, possibly other].

Thaila Ayala (1986) Brazilian [Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, possibly other] and Basque.

Francia Raisa (1988) Honduran / Mexican.

Lorenza Izzo (1989) Chilean [Spanish, Italian, English, possibly other].

Daniela Vega (1989) Chilean - is trans.

Carolina Mestrovic (1991) Chilean [Croatian, Italian].

Adria Arjona (1992) Guatemalan / Puerto Rican.

Lux Pascal (1992) Chilean [Spanish, Basque, possibly other] - is trans.

Camila Queiroz (1993) Brazilian.

Arienne Mandi (1994) Chilean and Iranian - is pansexual.

Julia Goldani Telles (1995) Brazilian [Italian] / Mexican.

Kiana Ledé (1997) African American, Unspecified Indigenous / Mexican.

and then:

Öykü Çelik (1987) Turkish.

Melissa O'Neil (1988) Hongkonger / Irish.

Melisa Aslı Pamuk (1991) Turkish.

Kiana Madeira (1992) Irish, Unspecified First Nations, Black Canadian / Portuguese.

Jessica Henwick (1992) Chinese Singaporean / English.

Ayça Ayşin Turan (1992) Turkish.

Olivia Liang (1993) Chinese.

Here you go!