Luis Fonsi and Latino Stars Rally to Support Puerto Rico

It’s been just over two weeks since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Since then, many have rallied to aid the island, but none so tirelessly as Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. He’s released a star-studded single and music video to raise funds, and it’s amazing.

‘Almost Like Praying’ was recorded, produced and released in less than seven days, and features a dazzling array of Latino artists like Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Rubén Blades, Gloria Estefan, and #legend’s October cover star Luis Fonsi. The song, which re-imagines a sample from West Side Story’s ‘María’, is a heartfelt tribute to Puerto Rico and names all 78 of its municipalities.  

Miranda told NBC’s today, “It’s a sample from María from West Side Story. I knew that name would forever have a destructive connotation in the island… I thought, I can flip the sample.” The sentiment is simple, he went on to explain, “Thoughts and prayers are great; thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need supplies, we need aid, we need a government response that matches the response of our people, and that’s what the song’s about.”

The single began trending almost immediately and amassed 500,000 views in just a few hours. At the time of publishing, it has 2,238,359 views (we estimate roughly 1,000 are from the #legend office…)

Proceeds from the song will benefit The Hispanic Federation’s Unidos Disaster Relief Fund. To learn more, check out almostlikepraying.com