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Alt.Latino: A Spotlight On Playwrights With Lin-Manuel Miranda And Karen Zacarias

Lin-Manuel Miranda (shown here accepting an award at the 70th Annual Tony Awards) is featured in this week's show.
Theo Wargo
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Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Lin-Manuel Miranda (shown here accepting an award at the 70th Annual Tony Awards) is featured in this week's show.

The Alt.Latino team is so grateful for the positive feedback to our periodic "Music Magazine" shows — and now, we're happy to present the Fall edition.

This week we put the spotlight on two playwrights, one of whom you probably know, the other someone you should.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is... well, Lin-Manuel Miranda. You don't need me to sing his praises — you can probably do that off the top of your head. Despite that, this week we admire his commitment to making the world a better place by using his songwriting skills to help out his beloved Puerto Rico.

Listen in as he talks about how he brought together over 20 Latinx musicians and vocalists to create a song that raises relief funds for the island.

Karen Zacarias  (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post / The Washington Post/Getty Images
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The Washington Post/Getty Images
Karen Zacarias (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Karen Zacarias has been busy writing plays, such as the Charles MacArthur Award-winning The Sins of Sor Juana, that have been winning converts one theater seat at a time in playhouses all over the country for about two decades.

Alt.Latino contributor Marisa Arbona-Ruiz visited Zacarias at The Mead Center for American Theater's Arena Stage to explore — and hear — her recent play, along with some folks who helped make it happen.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.