In the Heights

What does sueñito mean?

Sueñito ? It means "little dream."

That's it? No story?

Can we go in the water now?

Let him explain.

All right, all right. Everybody sit down, sit down.

Yes! Yeah! -All right.

All right.

Bueno.

It's the story of a block that was disappearing.

Once upon a time, in a far away land called Nueva York,

en un barrio called Washington Heights.

Say it, so it doesn't disappear.

Washington Heights!

All right, all right. Oye, oye, oye.

The streets were made of music.

Mi gente! It's your boy, The Kid Mero.

It's 5:30 a.m., and here's today's news.

In a record-breaking heat wave, the mayor's urging residents to what?

Limit air conditioner use, as brownouts continue in the Bronx.

Check it out, this weekend's highly anticipated block party,

Fiesta in the Heights,

is about to get you out of your homes and into the clubs.

Hey, Pop.

Best days of my life.

Bendicion, Abuela. Bendicion.

Don't forget to take your medicine.

God bless you. - Love you.

Lights up on Washington Heights Up at the break of day

Yo, what are you doing, bro?

I wake up and I got this little punk

I gotta chase away

Pop the grate at the crack of dawn

Sing while I wipe down the awning

Hey, y'all. Good morning.

Ice cold piragua , parcha, china , cherry, strawberry and just for today I got mamey.

Ice cold piragua , parcha ...

I am Usnavi and you prob'ly never heard my name

Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated

Exacerbated by the fact That my syntax is highly complicated

'Cuz I emigrated from the single greatest Little place in the Caribbean

Dominican Republic I love it

Jesus, I'm jealous of it And beyond that

Ever since my folks passed on I haven't gone back

Goddamn, I gotta get on that

The milk has gone bad

Hold up just a second

Why is everything in this fridge warm and tepid?

I'd better step it up and fight the heat

'Cuz I'm not makin' any profit If the coffee isn't light and sweet

Yoo-hoo! -Abuela, my fridge broke.

I got café but no con leche.

Ay, Dios . Try my mother's old recipe.

One can of condensed milk.

Nice.

Oh, hey. Your lottery ticket.

That was Abuela She's not really my abuela

But she practically raised me

This corner is her escuela

Now, you're probably thinkin' I'm up shit's creek

I've never been north of 96th Street.

Well you must take the A Train

Even farther than Harlem To northern Manhattan and maintain

Get off at 181st and take the escalator

I hope you're writin' this down I'm gonna test you later

I'm getting tested Times are tough on this bodega

Two months ago somebody bought Ortega's

Our neighbors started packin' up and pickin' up

And ever since the rents went up

It's gotten mad expensive But we live with just enough

In the Heights

I flip the lights and start my day

There are fights and endless debts

And bills to pay

In the Heights

I can't survive without café

I serve café

'Cuz tonight seems like a million years away

En Washington--

Next up-- ding! Kevin Rosario

He runs the cab company

He struggles in the barrio

See, his daughter Nina's off at college

Tuition is mad steep So he can't sleep

Everything he get is mad cheap

Good morning, Usnavi

Pan caliente Café con leche

Put 20 dollars on today's lottery

Okay! Must be your lucky day

Gotta be

Oh, my God, you're so excited

My Nina flew in at 3:00 a.m. last night

Sweet! Abuela's been cooking all week

Compay, when I see you this weekend...

Are we gonna eat!

So then Yesenia walks in the room

Aha...

She smells sex and cheap perfume

Oh, no!

It smells like one of those trees that you hang from the rearview

Ay, no!

It's true! She screams, "Who's in there with you, Julio?"

Daniela!

Grabs a bat and kicks in the door

Carla!

He's in bed with Jose from the liquor store!

No me diga!

And that's Cuca. The salon ladies.

Thanks, Usnavi!

Cuca.

Adios, papi.

Bye!

Sonny, you're late.

Chillax, you know you love me.

Me and my cousin runnin'

Just another dime-a-dozen Mom-and-pop stop-and-shop

And oh, my God, it's gotten too darn hot

Like my man Cole Porter said

People come through for a few cold waters

And a lottery ticket Just a part of the routine

Everybody's got a job Everybody's got a dream

They gossip, as I sip my coffee and smirk

The first stop as people hop to work

Bust it, I'm like: "One dollar, two dollars

One fifty, one sixty-nine I got it

You want a box of condoms? What kind?

That's two quarters, two quarter waters The New York Times

You need a bag for that? The tax is added"

Once you get some practice at it

You do rapid mathematics automatically

Sellin' maxi-pads, fuzzy dice for taxicabs

Practically everybody's stressed, yes

But they press through the mess

Bounce checks and wonder what's next

In the Heights I buy my coffee and I go

I buy my coffee and--

Set my sights

On only what I need to know

What I need to know

In the Heights

Money is tight, but even so

Even so

When the lights go down I blast my radio

You ain't got no skills!

Benny!

Yo, let me get a--

Milky Way

Yeah, and let me also get a--

Daily News

And a--

Post

And most important my--

Boss's second coffee

One cream

Five sugars

I'm the number one earner

What?

The fastest learner

What?

My boss, he can't keep me On the damn back burner

Yes he can

I'm makin' moves, I'm makin' deals

But guess what?

What?

You still ain't got no skills

Har-de-har

Yo, Vanessa show up yet?

Shut up!

Hey, little homie, don't get so upset

Man...

Tell Vanessa how you feel

Buy the girl a meal on the real

Or you ain't got no skills

Nooo! No, no, nooo!

No, no, nooo, no-no-no! Nooo, no-no-no!

No, no-no, no-no, no-no No-no, no-no, no-no!

Mr. Johnson, I got the security deposit

It's locked in a box in the bottom of my closet

It's not reflected in my bank statement

But I've been savin' to make a down payment and pay rent

No, no, I won't let you down

You got this. You got this.

Yo, here's your chance Ask her out right now!

I'll see you later We can look at that lease

Bro, do somethin' Make your move, don't freeze!

Hey!

You owe me a bottle of cold champagne!

Are you movin'?

Just a little credit check And I'm on that downtown train!

Well, your coffee's on the house

Okay

Usnavi, ask her out

No way

I'll see you later, so...

Whoa!

Yo, smooth operator Oh, damn, there she goes

Yo, bro, take five Take a walk outside

You look exhausted, lost Don't let life slide

The whole hood is struggling Times is tight

And you're stuck to this corner Like a streetlight

Yeah, I'm a streetlight Chokin' on the heat

The world spins around While I'm frozen to my seat

The people that I know All keep on rollin' down the street

But every day is different So I'm switchin' up the beat

'Cuz my parents came with nothing They got a little more

And sure, we're poor But yo, at least we got the store

And it's all about the legacy They left with me, it's destiny

And one day I'll be on a beach with Sonny writing checks to me

In the Heights I hang my flag up on display

We came to work and to live And we got a lot in common

It reminds me that I came from miles away

DR, PR, we are not stoppin'

In the Heights

Every day, paciencia y fe

Until the day we go from poverty to stock options

In the Heights I've got today

Today's all we got, so we cannot stop

This is our block

In the Heights I hang my flag up on display

It reminds me that I came from miles away my family came from miles away

In the Heights It gets more expensive every day

Every day

And tonight is so far away

But as for mañana, mi pana Ya gotta just keep watchin'

You'll see the late nights

In the Heights

You'll taste beans and rice

The syrup and shaved ice

In the Heights

I ain't gonna say it twice

Turn up the streetlights

In the Heights

We're takin' a flight

To a couple of days in the life of what it's like

En Washington Heights!

Come on, stack that right there, beside the mangoes.

Let's just keep those boxes in order, too.

Ah. the hustle never ends.

Alejandro, how you doing?

How's the law office? -Still going, thank God.

You're spitting image of your old man. -Oh, man, come on.

Yeah, so how was the DR?

I got to visit some old friends. You know how it is.

I wish I could go back more often.

That's facts.

Hey, so you get to check out my dad's old place? -Mm-hm.

Same story as last time?

You ready?

Don't play!

Now, it's probably not how you remember it,

but it could be an opportunity to bring it back to life.

My pops would be rolling in his grave if he saw what came of his bar.

The electricity's shot.

Half the roof got taken in the hurricane.

Thus the low asking price, the quick sale.

"El Sueñito."

Pop's little dream.

Yo, I remember, man, when--

I used to be working in the back on a soda gun.

And I was like John Wick. I'd be like...

I've been saving up all my pennies in my piggy bank for this day.

Yeah, on these blocks, you can't walk two steps

without bumping into someone's big plans.

Mijo...

Okay, I'm in.

Thank you, man.

I'll see you, papa.

Come on.

Here we go.

This is crazy!

Let's go!

Mine was a... quaint little sueñito.

If I made it back to the Dominican Republic, then we retained our roots.

But Nina Rosario's dreams were all about reach.

Spelling bee champ, valedictorian,

managed her dad's business and basically...

she was like a little sister to me.

Girl was a rocket, determined to go far.

What?

The genius is back!

I missed you! -Me, too. Did you just get in?

Yeah, late last night.

Final week? -Yeah, it's really happening.

Yo, so much to catch up on.

Come over for a free mani-pedi, yeah? -I need it.