What does suenito mean?
Suenito? 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.
Hey, y'all. Good morning.
Ice cold piragua, parcha, china, cherry, strawberry and just for today I got mamey.
Ice cold piragua, parcha...
- 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.
I've never been north of 96th Street.
Aha...
Oh, no!
Ay, no!
Daniela!
Carla!
No me diga!
And that's Cuca. The salon ladies.
Cuca.
Adios, papi.
Bye!
Sonny, you're late.
Chillax, you know you love me.
Yo, here's your chance Ask her out right now!
Whoa!
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 Suenito."
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 suenito.
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.
Mm-hm. Oh, and Benny's on the dispatch today. Just sayin'.
- No, no, no, no... - Go, go, go.
You thirsty as hell.
Ohh! You used to date?
No way, the boss's daughter?
Nina Rosario!
- Oh! Yo! - What's up?
Yo, hold up.
Don't get hit by a car, girl, you just got here.
Oh, man.
Yo, mad changes happening on the block since you've been at school.
Oh, yeah. I mean, at least your dad kept half the storefront.
Yo, the cleaners next door, nine dollars a shirt.
- What? - Yo! Look who's home!
Look at you! Why are you taller than me?
I know, my man grew a couple inches, he think he a man.
- Man, shut up. - I see you.
Listen, you down to march next week?
Like we used to?
What's the cause?
They're talking about kicking out all the DREAMers.
It's time to make some noise. You want to come?
I know that voice!
Woo-hoo!
- Count me in. - Yo. Later.
- Well, you do good? You done? - Yeah.
- My man, who's watching the store? - What?
- Yo! - Shit!
Pete! You can't just take that!
Bro! Get back here, man!
That's on your tab, bro! Both of y'all.
Oh, yes.
Hand-embroidered by your mother.
May she rest in peace.
We'll use them for the party.
They're beautiful.
Abuela Claudia never had kids,
so she adopted the whole block as her own.
Adopted our suenitos, too.
When I got to Stanford...
the isolation, Abuela.
The loneliness.
I was, like, "What am I doing here?"
Mira, when my mamá came from Cuba...
Ay, Dios mío.
She felt like one tiny grain of sand from the beaches we left behind.
What did she do?
She bought a winter coat and a pair of velvet gloves.
Her hands were cracked from the cleaning fluids.
But the gloves hid that.
We had to assert our dignity in small ways.
That's why these napkins are beautiful.
That's why my mother's gloves were beautiful.
Little details that tell the world, we are not invisible.
Nina!
The reality of an elite school...
it's no joke, Pop.
Yeah, when I left, y'all were, like,
"It's gonna be great. Go show 'em who we are. Go represent."
The truth is...
is that most of the time I'm at Stanford feels like a betrayal.
De verdad? Of who?
Of my family.
My community.
Like the dean, he invited me to this diversity dinner.
Super-wealthy donors, trustees, the whole nine.
And I wore this black cocktail dress and I was walking to my seat,
and one of the patrons shoved her plate into my arms
and said, "I ordered the vegetarian option."
- No. - Yeah.
And all the servers, all Latino, shot me this look,
like, "Ooh, what's this triguena gonna do?"
"Ooh, what's she gon' do? Is she with us? Or is she with them?"
Ah, bueno. There's no shame in waiting tables.
And there's no shame in having a different path.
Like you.
Dad... the deadline passed.
The extension on spring tuition.
- Yeah. - But I didn't receive notice.
Yeah, they let me finish off my classes, but we owe them.
No, don't you give it a second thought. I'm on it. Hm?
Dad...
The deadline to pay and enroll for next semester also passed.
How come you know about all this before I do?
I switched the info. I gave the finance office my dorm address.
Well, why would you do that?
Because you sold half the business, and it barely covered freshman year.
I don't want you doing something else crazy.
- Espera, that sale pulled us out of debt. - No, no.
You and I both know that finances were tenuous before getting into this.
And this might not be feasible.
- I'm gonna call them right now. - Dad, Stanford's over.
Stop overreacting, Nina, please.
- Dad, I'm serious. - Oye!
You don't tell me how much we can afford.
You're not the parent. Hm?
God bless you. Dios te bendiga.
Gracias!
What's all over those pipes?
- Rust. - Rust?
Lovely.
That's the roof.
On the floor?
Ay, Usnavi.
Tu eres un workaholic.
You think it will be different in the Dominican Republic?
Just like my mamá.
Morning and night, year after year... to what end?
To wake up and scrub another floor till the day she died.
Yeah, but... here I work to survive.
El Suenito will be a labor of love.
The bodega was only supposed to be temporary,
but now... I'm like, almost 30.
The plan was always to go back.
Hopefully, I won't be going alone.
You, me and Sonny?
Y Sonny? Is he on board?
He's my next ask.
I'm not going without him.
Look, I got Sonny.
You know I can't go nowhere without you.
I took care of my community, no?
Hell, yes!
El Suenito 2.0.
The tropical air'll keep you young, girl!
Caramba, buy me a bikini!
Let's go!
I don't know, man. Leave Washington Heights?
I'd have to talk to my dad...
You're just a kid.
You don't even know. For real.
Dominican Republic's gonna blow your mind.
Look...
You do you. It's all good. But don't be roping me into your thing.
Yo...
Beach.
Merengue. Carnaval.
Summer all year 'round.
Who's gonna greet you in DR?
Some cousin you saw two Christmases ago?
Best days of my life were there.
That's the corniest thing I've ever heard.
You came here when you was eight.
You got... "island memories."
Not me. I was in Pampers on that plane.
NYC's my spot.
I got my island, okay? Go get yours.
Don't forget how you got your name.
- Yo... - Just, fix the fridge.
Yeah, all right. Bro, you think you're funny?
What's "Usnavi" mean, anyway?
That sounds weird.
No, it doesn't.
- All right. All right, all right, all right. - Shut up.
On my dad's first trip to Nueva York...
he saw a passing ship on the horizon.
And... he was, like, "Wow, that's gonna be my son's name."
- Usnavi! - Ohh...
Usnavi...
I like it.
Thank you.
- Hi, Mr. Rosario? - Yes, yes, I'm here.
Yes, I'm not sure the information you received was correct.
In actuality, we're still accepting tuition payments up until June.
So the deadline hasn't passed?
No, it has not passed. Would you like to know the remaining balance?
Yes. I have a pencil.
Sure, the balance that's due for the fall semester...
Now, remember, the block was disappearing.
Exhibit A: Daniela's salon.
Moving in a week, after decades of makeovers,
the skin-deep kind and the emotional kind.
No one could fill her shoes.
Literally, they were like four inches high.
He doesn't have an apartment. He doesn't pay rent anywhere.
He's bouncing between two girls' houses.
- Of course he is. - Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Mm-hm.
You know what? It's mad we allow ourselves to be hurt.
- We need to have a better standard. - That's what I'm saying.
Tres paradas... pickety, packety, poom,
and you're at the new spot.
I'm too old, and the Bronx is too far.
Que voy a hacer? I was priced out.
Most of my clients already up and moved to the Grand Concourse.
Hey, built in customers.
My lunch break isn't long enough for that trip, Dani.
Jessica...
swipe the fare card.
ride three stops.
arrive at my new location.
Ten minutes max.
Ten minutes? Carino.
What are you riding, a time machine?
Excuse me?
No, she didn't, right?
Our people survived slave ships.
We survived Taino genocide.
- We survived conquistadores and dictators. - Si.
You're telling me we can't survive the D Train to the Grand Concourse?
Okay, okay, okay.
And who cuts your hair better than me?
Hello, hello... How long's the wait?
For you, mamita, front of the line! Oye!
Emergency, coming through!
Mira, Nina!
Oh, God.
You guys!
I... dropped out.
No me diga.
Yeah. I should go.
Well, that's a shitty piece of news.
She probably flunked out.
Or she got a little bun in the oven, you know?
What the hell happened?
Dani, I'm taking lunch.
Go get me a soda, please?
- Yeah. - Where's she sneaking off to?
That was real quick.
Okay, so we're gonna shave the whole thing.
Vanessa.
Vanessa!
Vanessa, tough as nails.
Dreamed of being a downtown fashion designer.
To her, a suenito was something you keep a secret.
Hey, good morning to you, too, sweetheart.
I'm sorry. Had to rush to get here.
I e-mailed you a few days ago, but I brought an extra copy.
Here, just in case. Sorry, here.
Ah, Miss Morales.
- Yeah... yes. - Right.
I'm sorry, honey. I meant to call you.
Oh... Uh, I got bank checks.
First month, last month and security. Good as cash.
It's just without a solid credit check, there's not much I can do.
Maybe your parents could co-sign.
Assuming they can prove income 40 times the rent.
You know what? Get it to me by five. I'll see what I can do.
- Hi! - Hi.
- So glad you could make it. - So good to see you.
- Thanks for having us. - Good to meet you, yeah.
These are the windows I was telling you about.
Oh, fabulous.
Absolutely gorgeous.
Yo, how'd it go?
Are we popping champagne?
The realtor took one look at this, and was, like... "No."
Well, nope on her.
There's something on your shirt.
Just this.
My cousin over there, with his tongue hanging out...
has been meaning to ask...
Yeah?
What a lady like yourself...
would be doing this weekend.
Does your cousin dance?
Like a drunk Chita Rivera.
Stop.
Tell your cousin... Fiesta in the Heights.
We can hit a few clubs.
Check out the fireworks.
Keep it.
- Thanks. - Have a good day.
Girl, what the hell?
Look what you did.
Yes, that's my hair, girl. What you gonna do about it?
And in the middle!
You got me walking around here looking like a cockatoo!
Chita Rivera? You said drunk Chita Rivera.
Who's that?
Banana hat lady?
No, that's Carmen Miranda.
Unibrow artist lady?
- What? No. - Shut up!
What did they teach you for Hispanic Heritage Month?
Listen, and repeat after me.
Chita, Rita, Frida,
Celia, Dolores, Isabel,
Sandra, Julia, Rigoberta, Mirabal.
- Ready? - Yes!
- Go. - Chita, Rita, Frida,
Celia, Dolores...
Isabel, Sandra, Julia...
Rigoberta, Mirabal.
Plus, Sonia. Supreme Court Justice.
Come on! Let's go.
Thank you.
Yo, you all still open, man? Everybody closed early 'cause of the heat.
- We headed to the pool. - Let's go.
There is a god!
Yo, don't take nothing from there without my permission.
Yo, come on, let's roll, man.
All right, all right.
- Yo, Sonny, come on. - Yeah, I'm coming!
Yo, answer that.
Hello?
Holy shit!
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yo, why these chancletas make my toes wrinkle?
Move, come on.
- It's like they're squeezing my joints together. - Usnavi! Take 5.
Phone call! Lotto office.
- What, are these Lotto numbers? - We sold... a winner.
- Yesterday. - What?
Oh, shit, I played, bro.
Yo, let's talk profit sharing.
- I want a cut of your cut. - Yeah, my cut is zero.
- Man. - What's the payout?
And don't tell me no $500. I spent a lot of money on these tickets.
You are so cute.
I was just thinking off the top of my head.
- What's your name? - Jen.
- Nobody? - You put in ten dollars?
Oh, shit. This is the one.
Oh, man.
This is it! This is it!
So who won?
That's what everyone was wondering.
But the ticket was never turned in.
What? Now you talking crazy, boy.
- Yo, you lying. Tell us, man. - Yeah, tell us. - Common please.
If I knew, I would. The point is not who won...
but that we all had a suenito.
And when it comes to dreams... we had to keep scraping by.
Punk!
Stitchwork like this doesn't exist anymore.
Mm-hm.
Handmade by an old friend.
How much will you take for 'em?
Oh, no, no. Not for sale.
They're for a special occasion this weekend.
- Does tomorrow by 4:00 work? - Oh, perfect!
- Gracias. - All right, that's nine apiece times 12...
Plus tax. I'll waive the rush fee.
Cash or credit?
Bueno.
- Let me think about it. - Of course.
Welcome to the block.
Admit it.
You're happy I didn't make it at Stanford.
I mean, Nina, I'm not gonna lie.
This feels great.
Girl gets into NYU, she gets into Columbia...
- but she had to go to the farthest place. - Who broke up with who?
Nina, I'm not gonna be a ball and chain.
Right, I told you... We talked ab...
- Here we go. - What do you mean, "Here we go"?
Shh. Let me just listen to my block.
Right.
Oh, no.
No, I wasn't.
- Get in here, girl! - No...
Come on!
I'm home.
Hey, boss, I got your caffeine.
I'm in a meeting.
Oh, hey, Pike.
Everything okay?
Thank you, Benny. Thank you very much.
- Need anything else? - No, no. We're good, thank you very much.
If you need...
- Good kid. - Yes.
Café con leche.
Number twelve...
It's better than his current school.
I can pay for his flights, to and from.
Christmas, summers...
Just so that he doesn't go too long without seeing you.
And, you know, I know you're his dad,
and I'm just his big cousin, but...
I mean... this could be good for him.
You're unsure.
Talk to me.
Chill out. You're hovering.
You're doing that thing, you should...
That's your first of the day?
Listen, if I could be like...
"Out you go, Sonny," I would.
I thought about it.
But, I can't.
The kid doesn't listen to shit I say, anyway.
- So is that a yes? - Is it a yes?
Tio... Come on, man.
He's a good kid. He's smart. He's funny.
He cares.
That kid does well in school, he works hard.
And I could tell you.
I'm with him every day. Working in my store.
I got that kid working to the bone, but look, I'm...
He has an opportunity to have a life that you and me didn't have.
Come on, Tio.
How do you pay him?
Cash.
Ever wonder why?
Ever?
- Perdón, Alejandro. - Hey.
Thank you for letting me come in last minute.
I was just wondering about the status of the deposit.
We got good news, mijo.
The check is cashed.
So there's no chance, like, if I wanted to hold off
just to tie up some loose ends before... before I go.
The place is yours, mijo.
Yeah, well...
You got cold feet?
No... No.
No, man. I mean, that's amazing.
That's amazing. Thank you again.
You know, just, life throws you curve balls, but...
I'll figure it out. Thank you again.
- A dream come true, right? - Of course.
So... Sonny's dad is okay with him leaving?
Yeah... he's fine with it.
That's great.
Pero you wore your papi's hat?
Yeah. It fits.
- Okay, okay. - Okay? Gracias, mi amor.
Abuela.
- Hey.
I want to talk to you. Not now, but... you know.
Oh, yeah. Okay.
It's open. Está abierto!
Oh, we're in trouble now.
- How cute! - Oh, my God, I love that dress.
I love your dress.
Yo, look at this.
Good luck.
You're gonna need it.
Hey.
What?
I'm sorry, you just... You look amazing.
- Thanks. - My favorite color.
Well, I...
have a date tonight, so...
Word.
Right. That's right.
You have a date.
- I have a date, too. - Oh, you do?
We. We have a date.
We have a date. This is a date.
Let me get you a drink.
Think fast.
All right, let's clean this up before Abuela gets here.
Usnavi, Vanessa. Ven, baila.
That scratch on the record is her favorite part.
The scratch on the record is my favorite part.
Wow.
You don't want any of it? Oh, yeah, you're trying to be vegan, right?
Let me give you a vegan pastel.
Nina! You got sauce on my sleeve!
Tsk. Pass me a tissue or something.
No, I got you.
- You're good. - Wow.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Mirenlo. - Now you know.
- Be generous. - Yeah, we're gonna get it out.
- Wow. - You know what I'm sayin'.
Nice.
I take note.
You know, my first business, I was, like, seven or eight.
You know what? Every time you tell the story,
you're a different age, and you get younger
- and younger and younger. - I was seven or eight...
I took a rag and a coffee can,
I went to the plaza in Arecibo to shine shoes for a nickel.
But every nickel went to shoe polish, right?
Because the next time I could charge a dime.
- Wow, my man was a hustler. - 'Cause you got that investment brain.
- Hey, Benny! - Hey, yo!
- The party's just starting, siéntate. - Sorry, I'm late.
- Let me make you a plate. - No, no, I'm not hungry.
Benny, not hungry?
Yo, Kevin, that meeting I walked in on with you and Pike Phillips...
Is that what I thought it was?
'Cause, you know, I keep playing it on loop, and...
Adios. I was saving that news for dessert.
What news?
You know, when Pike originally approached me, he wanted the whole space.
So today, I reopened the conversation.
- What? - I knew it.
I guess we're gonna do this now, huh?
Nina... it was about your age
that your mother and I, God rest her soul, we came here
and we emptied our savings to put a down payment on Rosario's.
Two burgundy Cadillacs, that was your fleet!
Start small, dream big.
I look at you, mija, I see her.
Y te lo juro, if she were here, she would've done the same thing that I did today.
Dad...
I sold Rosario's.
- Felicidades! - What?
- Raise a glass. - Felicidades!
Yes, get cash money!
To Nina, who can now finish what she started at Stanford.
To Nina!
- To Nina. - To Nina.
Nina, say, "Thank you, Papi."
Dad... the deadline passed.
- I don't know what you're talking about. - Mentira, mentira!
Stop with the lying. I called them.
I called them! Stop trying to protect me here.
There were other things other than the finances.
Did you not hear what I said?
Yes, about the ignorant idiotas...
That's the same thing that we foresaw when we came!
No, it's not the same thing, Dad.
It is not the same.
When you came here and Mom came here, you all had a Latino community
ready to welcome you, open arms, babies and abuelas,
and teachers and lawyers, first generation, fifth generation...
There's no community for me at school.
I got searched.
Yeah.
I got searched.
On moving day...
my roommate lost her pearl necklace and...
the RA and her parents came in...
and searched me and they...
emptied my drawers, turned over my purse...
and I just stood there.
I stood there and didn't say anything.
And then eventually, they found it... in her bag.
You're the best we've got, Nina.
If you can't stay in the ring, what's that gonna say about us?
You can't keep putting your life's work on my shoulders, Dad.
Dile, mi gente, isn't she the best we got?
And then I apologize like an idiot.
I stood there, I didn't do anything,
and then I apologized.
Well, you keep getting A's, baby,
that's your revenge.
- My God, you're not hearing her, Kevin. - I'm not going back!
- Como? - I'm not going back!
So all of my decisions can just go to hell here?
- I'm doing this for you! - No, you're doing it for you!
What if I refuse your money?
What if I don't want it?
I refuse.
She refused.
Okay, se acabo todo. Get out!
Fiesta in the Heights!
Celebrate!
Hey!
Oh, shit!
Where you been?
- Yo, you been doing your thing all night! - You owe me a dance.
Yeah, hold up. Wait, wait. Let's take a shot.
- You want a shot? - No, it's fine.
Let me get you a shot.
- I'll be right back, I'll be right back! - No, stay! Usnavi!
Two shots, please! Same thing.
- When was the last time you saw her? - On the dance floor, man!
- Did she text you? Did she call you? - That taxi is mine!
I called her twice and I texted her.
- She not hittin' me back. - Get out of my car!
I gotta get to the dispatch, man.
Yo, I gotta wait for Vanessa, man. I gotta find her.
- What are you talking about? - Look, I might not have a job tomorrow,
but I still got one tonight, Nina.
Let it go.
I can't. Just stick with Usnavi.
I'll see you later, all right?
Nagle at Broadway, I got a woman in labor,
she needs to go to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
Can you get her there? Thank you and happy birthday.
Yo, Kevin, I, um... I routed all the incoming calls through my cell
and I got the generator covering the outgoing.
You smart.
- You so smart. - Hi, baby.
You got here mad quick. What's going on?
Yeah, long night at the club.
Usnavi, what's wrong?
- Forget about it. - Have a drink.
Toast to drama.
Ay, but you're too comfortable.
- G-51. - Bingo, mother-lovers!
Atención, if you don't have a fare, I want you over on 125th.
at the synagogue and head up to Regiment.
So if you're crossing the bridge,
- pick up multiple riders. - Go up to Dyckman, then.
Do what you gotta do.
I'll get you some water in a minute.
All right. Put your feet up.
- That's better. - All right.
- Ooh. That's better. - You okay?
- Yes, thank you. - All right.
- I'm done. I'm done. - Are we touching each other?
Oh, my God. The fear!
Abuela.
Abuela, Abuela.
Daniela!
Abuela.
Daniela!
Call 911!
- Okay, okay, okay. - Call 911!
- Wait, what? - I got you, I got you, I got you...
- What's going on? - No, no...
Daniela!
- What's happening? - Bring her some towels!
Come here with some towels!
Okay, okay.
- It's gonna be okay. - Abuela, it's gonna be okay. I'm right here.
I'm right here, Abuela, I'm right here. I'm right here.
I'm right here, I'm right here.
Should we take a break?
No, Daddy, keep going.
Hey, Pop.
Best days of my life.
It's creepy quiet.
Usually, the One Train's up there, screeching.
Yo, I was thinking... there's so much stuff going on.
And all it just got me thinking about is, like... all the people I care about the most.
And I just thought about you.
You're about to change zip codes.
Country codes, actually.
Yeah, but that's not till August.
I mean, you know, we got time.
Usnavi...
I'm the girl who paints nails.
There's plenty like me, here and over there.
Stop!
Yo, you're an artist.
Yo, your senior year lab book...
I should've been paying attention to the board, but...
all them doodles you made.
Yo, it was like...
Wonder Woman meets...
The Simpsons meets...
Guernica.
And I would...
I would watch, like...
I just want to see the whole world through her eyes.
Mira para allá.
Benny, you know, before I bought Rosario's...
it was O'Hanrahan's.
The whole block was Irish.
You know why I bought it?
My dad, he, uh... he pulled me out of high school,
so that I could work on the same farm as him.
Making the same pennies.
I thought to myself, "No, no, no, papi."
"That don't make no sense."
I'm gonna drop out so somebody else could get rich off of my work?
So I came here.
So I could make my own damn work.
But, you never finished high school?
But Nina did.
You asked me, "What a suenito means?"
I'm not gonna sit here and give you
some fairy tale version.
You know, a dream isn't some sparkly diamond we get.
You know, sometimes, it's... it's rough.
And it's not so pretty.
Yeah!
DACA was not a gift from some benevolent saint, right?
- No. - No!
- You made it happen, you fought for it. - Yes!
And that's why it still continues now.
'Cause what about the people who don't qualify, like my niece, right?
She gets into college without papers, but...
no work-study for her, no federal aid for her
so she doesn't get to go to college. It's not right.
- What did she say? - She said her niece couldn't go to college.
We can dream bigger and better, right?
Yo, Sonny!
What's going on man?
Let's do this. Yes!
I knew I couldn't get a license.
But no college?
She was talking about undocumented folks.
I remember when I was your age, they used to say...
"If you work hard and you live by the rules,
the money will come, the things will come.
And that, those things will complete you."
But, they won't.
We work so hard to try and get there, that we forget about what's right here.
I was gonna be like you.
Share your stories!
Share your stories. There's nothing to be ashamed of!
Tell our stories! Tell our stories!
Dad, I know what I have to do.
You've given me this amazing education and I just need to use it,
and figure out how every undocumented kid gets a pathway.
Maybe Stanford isn't a way out. Maybe it's a way back.
Like Abuela always used to say...
asserting our dignity in small ways.
Wow.
This is it, huh, mija?
What?
This is the moment when you do better than me.
Not because of some fancy degree...
It's 'cause you can see a future that I can't.
Hey...
You're Nuyoricua.
We're a people on the move, so yeah, bring us with you.
Ignore anyone who doubts you.
You take all the bruises, baby, but you stay in the ring.
I called, and it's still available.
But Vanessa needs a co-signer, and not one who's about to leave the country.
Would you?
As a personal favor?
We're all ready, ma'am.
That's senorita to you.
Yes. Yes, ma'am... Senorita. Yes.
Listas. We'll follow behind.
- It's hotter in here. - Put on the AC.
Come find me in the Bronx.
3843 Grand Concourse.
Where the hell is everybody?
Diablo. It's like they've given up.
Bye, people!
Bye!
Carajo.
Ungrateful!
Our matriarch bites the dust, and this is how we move on?
We are not power-less. We are powerful.
If Claudia was here, she'd say, "P'alante."
In Puerto Rico, blackouts happen all the time, and we still threw a fiesta.
This is like Gilligan's Ghetto Island.
Mi amor, cálmate, huh? What would Jesus do?
Do I look like Jesus to you?
- I mean, sometimes when I squint. - True.
Wow.
Here comes Usnavi!
Hey!
We love you! We love you! Bye!
All right. Watch your hand, move... You push.
- Okay, okay, okay... Got it... - There you go. There you go.
- My finger! - Oh, my gosh. Yo.
Listen, I got this. Just push. Just push down.
Oh, my gosh.
Ooh!
Oh, my gosh. You're only gone to Thanksgiving.
Nina.
Let me just listen to my block.
Sunset looked better in the blackout.
Well, how about...
we pretend we're still in it?
- I like that. - Yeah?
Early July...
The whole summer is ahead of us.
Nina didn't even let them drive her to the airport.
She had to take that step on her own.
An independent, stubborn lady. Like you, hija.
And that's good.
What?
No, you didn't!
No, you did not!
Yo, you playing tricks on me!
Yo, you playing tricks on me, man!
Yo, Abuela...
Hello? Yes, what time do you close?
Word! Yes!
Okay, thank you so much. Thank you, bye.
Whoa!
Hi!
Were you just standing there, just...
I... I heard you fly out tomorrow.
Yeah.
- Yo, come in, come in, come in. - Thanks.
Yeah.
So how's the new spot?
It's great.
My fingers won't budge. I haven't sewn a single thing since I moved.
- You will. - Yeah.
Just... waiting for inspiration to strike, I guess.
Well, you're pretty creative and artistic, I mean...
So... it's gonna hit you, I think.
How long does this process take?
Well, from the original application to court,
appearances, appeals, to a final decision...
could be five months.
Or five years.
- Five years? - Yeah.
For a green card or a rejection.
See, the courts work at their own speed.
Then we start today.
This is worth 96,000.
How much fight does this buy us?
I wanna pay for your fee, and the rest put in a trust for Sonny.
- Dude. - It don't matter.
Holy shit, that's a lot of money.
- Watch your mouth, bro. - When did you get that?
What you mean, when did I get it? Don't worry about when I got it.
Why you always asking questions?
You know, payment in checks is more common.
I leave on the first flight in the morning.
I don't have time to cash in now.
I wish I did, but I like...
Please.
All right.
Bueno, mijo...
this is gonna be an emotional rollercoaster.
It may end in heartbreak.
- But, there's a chance, right? - Yeah.
But it's my responsibility to make sure that he knows...
the odds are against you.
Understood.
I still want to fight, though.
Okay.
Pete!
Seriously?
My bad. Use one of those rags.
Hey...
How much for this?
Free. I got tons like that.
You hear that?
The voices of the gods.
My last morning, the One Train...
sounded like Juan Luis Guerra.
And the garbage trucks smelled like island flowers.
Best days of my life.
Here I come.
Hey, you.
Hey.
Do you have two minutes?
Yeah.
You said you wanted to see the world through my eyes, right?
- Yeah. - Come with me.
- No peeking. - All right.
- Okay. - All right.
Watch it.
- Where am I going? - Just stand right here.
- Where? - No peeking.
- I'm not... - I can feel you trying to open your eyes, okay?
- I'm not trying... - Just don't.
Hold on.
Okay, open.
After I left your place last night, I just...
walked around for a while.
And then I ran into Pete.
And I saw one of his drop cloths, and...
I thought that this is my next piece.
So I called Sonny and I told him to open up the bodega,
'cause my fingers needed to move.
She started working and was like, "I need more drop cloths."
So I started painting.
Yo, how did you...
That's my dad's beach.
Yeah. You had all those photos by the register.
I worked from memory.
I did the crab in the corner.
What's so funny?
Who cares about the crab in the corner?
What you mean, the crab is like the best part.
No, it is not. It's in the corner for a reason.
So what, are you saying you don't like my crab?
I may be saying a lot of things,
that just looks like a fourth-grader drew that.
- You could sell that. - No, I cannot. For how much?
- 25 cents? - No, I think a couple of grand.
What?
- Yeah. - I'm saying... just...
He hates it.
He's forming an artistic opinion.
What?
Yo! Usnavi's stayin'!
Until then...
I thought it was past tense.
What?
The best days of my life.
So I stayed.
And I built my little dream, my suenito,
here, in Washington Heights.
Say it, so it doesn't disappear.
Washington Heights!
Because this place... this is it.
You... you, nena.
You're it.
Para siempre...
I have a date tonight.
I take note.
But, there's a chance, right?
We sold... a winner!
Start small, dream big.
Little details...
that tell the world we are not invisible.
Can we go to the water now?
Man, you've been talking forever.
Yeah, come on, Iris.
Please, Daddy? Can I go, too?
Ask your mother.
Mami, can I?
Please?
Yes, mi vida, go.
Yes!
Love you, Daddy.
Send somebody over here. I don't...
Ain't that some shit?