October 13, 2019

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Portrayal of Julián Castro On Saturday Night Live Was Perfection

Hashtag “Latinobama.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda Jordan Strauss/AP

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Saturday Night Live has been criticized recently for its lack of Latino representation, particularly after it left out former housing secretary Julián Castro from its season opener that spoofed the Democratic debates. But this week, the show brought on Lin Manuel Miranda to play Castro in the show’s cold open last night that was based on CNN’s LGBT town hall. 

The show modeled the town hall after a drag ball a la Pose, the award-winning drama on FX. They set the tone by using the show’s breakout star, Billy Porter, to introduce the candidates. “And now, from the Haus of Urban Deliciousness,” he cried by way of introduction to Castro. 

Manuel’s portrayal of Castro was significant not just by virtue of representing Castro onstage, but also because it played perfectly on the candidate’s burgeoning reputation as especially “woke” on issues related to sex and gender. At one point, he joked, “As a Democrat, I want to apologize for not being gay.” He also dubbed himself the “Latinobama.”

You can see the full sketch here:

From the looks of it, the skit was a hit with the real Castro, too.

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