Lin-Manuel Miranda Funds Puerto Rican Artists Post-Hurricane Maria

A Community United Through Art

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, Marena Pérez and Aureo Andino found themselves sheltering in their ballet studio. The couple, along with their daughter and Pérez’s parents, stayed there for three months, relying on a gas generator and sleeping on pullout couches. Their home had been flooded with four feet of water, making it impossible to return. Instead of retreating from the crisis, they opened their doors to the community, offering free dance classes each afternoon.

“It became an oasis for dancers in Puerto Rico,” said Andino. While the Mauro Ballet struggled financially for 18 months, they found support through the Flamboyan Arts Fund, a $22 million initiative led by Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family. This fund was largely supported by money raised during the 2019 run of Miranda’s Broadway musical “Hamilton” in San Juan.

Miranda, whose parents were raised in Puerto Rico, emphasized the importance of ensuring artists were not forgotten in relief efforts. “Artists always get left out of the conversation,” he said. “We wanted to make sure they were not forgotten.”

Art as a Healing Force

Hurricane Maria caused widespread devastation, with nearly 3,000 deaths linked to the lack of power, clean water, and other essential services. The damage exceeded $115 billion, and some areas remained without electricity for 11 months. Despite this, artists played a vital role in helping Puerto Ricans process their grief and articulate the challenges they faced.

Marianne Ramírez Aponte, executive director of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in San Juan, initially feared that the cultural sector might not recover. However, what happened instead was “quite the opposite.” Arts groups transformed their spaces into relief hubs, creating mutual aid networks and deploying cultural brigades to comfort and entertain those affected.

Yari Helfeld, executive director of the community theater company Y No Había Luz, received requests to perform in isolated communities just weeks after the storm. She was surprised to be asked for theater when people still struggled to access basic necessities. “They said, ‘You’re helping heal the spirit,’” she recalled.

Art and Political Expression

The hurricane also exposed the deep frustrations many Puerto Ricans felt about their relationship with the U.S. Federal and local government responses were slow, and austerity measures tied to massive public debt worsened economic conditions. Power outages disrupted daily life, and over 120,000 Puerto Ricans left the island in search of stability.

Poetry, paintings, and performances helped people process the emotional and intellectual impact of the disaster. Artists like Rayze Michelle Ostolaza Oquendo expressed the hopes and disappointments of the territory through their work. In her 2024 poem “Ser Puertorriqueño,” she wrote: “I have a dream, and it’s simple: to be allowed to be from here, to die on this land and whistle like the coquí, it’s not much to ask.”

A New Phase of Support

The Flamboyan Arts Fund has supported 110 Puerto Rican arts organizations and 900 artists. Now, the Miranda family and the D.C.-based Flamboyan Foundation are committing an additional $10 million to support Puerto Rican arts and culture. This new phase of funding goes beyond emergency relief, aiming to help the arts sector thrive and become an economic driver for the archipelago.

Kristin Ehrgood, CEO of the Flamboyan Foundation, emphasized that the decision to continue the initiative was driven by both its success and the ongoing need. “Funding for arts and arts organizations continues to decline,” she said. “We’ve decided to continue it because it’s needed still.”

Cultural Impact and Economic Growth

The funding has helped restore damaged facilities, such as a flooded wing of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, and equipped museums and cultural centers with solar panels and batteries. It has also supported the digitization of 1,200 art pieces and artifacts, allowing museums to continue programming online during the pandemic.

This month, Latin music superstar Bad Bunny, the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner, completed a 31-concert residency in San Juan. The event is estimated to have injected $733 million into the local economy. His latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” celebrates his homeland and highlights local musicians and genres like plena and salsa. The album also addresses the territory’s political status and issues of displacement.

Lin-Manuel Miranda praised Bad Bunny’s approach, calling it “brilliant.” He believes that supporting artists who speak on behalf of Puerto Rico is crucial. “Puerto Rico always tells us what’s going on,” he said. With continued investment in the arts, the island’s voice can be amplified even further.