Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
A high school in the San Fernando Valley had a surprise visitor Thursday. The creator and star of the Broadway blockbuster musical, Hamilton, stopped by Panorama High School in Panorama City to give a talk to some very lucky students.
"We didn't tell them," said Panorama High School assistant principal, Michele Germic. "They started to get an idea when we had so many news crews. We did have a poster that one of our art teachers made of the outline of Hamilton so they were like, 'Could it be?' It was a great exciting moment when he came out on stage."
Manuel spoke to the school's 1,000 students in a mix of English and Spanish, which went over big, considering the student population.
"We are about 95% Hispanic Latino population. We also have a very large population of new-to-the country students, and it really resonated with them, his message with regard to immigrants and welcoming them to the U.S. and being a part of our history," Germic said.
Miranda emphasized the message of having to work to get what you want and not letting barriers get in the way, Germic said. "Pushing past those, really spoke to these students. Life isn't going to be easy, but you can get where you want to be with hard work."