'Lin-Manuel's dad' chronicles his own political, family journey in 'Relentless'

One morning in 2017, Luis A. Miranda Jr.

One morning in 2017, Luis A. Miranda Jr. — a Democratic political strategist and the father of “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda — knew that something bad was happening to him.

Driving in New York City, he felt acute pain and realized that he was having a heart attack. He headed for the hospital but delayed getting to the ER because he thought it was ridiculous to pay $50 for two-hour parking. Instead, he drove around until he found a parking spot. Before a team of doctors whisked him away for surgery, he asked them if it could be done in two hours, because he had to go move his car. 

Luis Miranda in Puerto Rico.Vanessa Serra Díaz / APNow the irrepressible Miranda, 69, is out with a new memoir, “Relentless: My Story of the Latino Spirit That is Transforming America.” In it, he recounts his rise as a young activist from Puerto Rico who went on to become one of the country’s most influential Latino Democratic political advisers and philanthropists. “My journey as a Puerto Rican in New York,” he writes, “is both intensely personal and entirely representative of Latinos across the United States.”

Writing his memoir was an emotional experience, Miranda said, “because there were some passages in my life ... that were very personal and sad.” The hardest part was writing about the devastating impact Hurricane Maria had on Puerto Rico: The 2017 hurricane destroyed his parents’ home and plunged the island into crisis. Miranda’s efforts to raise money and aid for Puerto Rico’s recovery were the subject of the 2020 documentary, “Siempre, Luis.”

Luis Miranda celebrates his 2nd birthday in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, at his grandparents’ house. Courtesy Miranda FamilyMiranda grew up in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, and intended to pursue a Ph.D. in political sociology when he arrived in New York City in 1974. But he has lived his life, he told NBC News, “on managed impulse.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/relentless-memoir-luis-miranda-lin-manuel-dad-rcna150489

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