Daniel Boczarski/Getty ImagesLin-Manuel Miranda lost a loved one this Christmas.
The Tony Award winner's beloved grandmother, Abuela Mundi, passed away on Monday, leaving the 37-year-old playwright heartbroken. "Abuela Mundi passed away this Christmas morning," Miranda confirmed in a tweet. "I may have more words in the days to come but for now my heart is in pieces and that's where it's gonna be for a bit."
The composer included sweet black and white snapshots of Mundi, including one of him and her cuddling in a hospital bed.
Miranda has been vocal about Mundi's influence in his life, particularly as his caretaker during his childhood years in Washington Heights—the inspiration for his award-winning Broadway show, In The Heights.
"She took care of my father when he was a kid in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico," he described in a 2007 personal essay for Broadway.com. "His parents never stopped working, and when I was born, she came to take care of me and my sister."
As he continued, "The payoff for me will be in late January, when my Abuela Mundi comes to see the show for the first time. There's an Abuela character in the show now, Abuela Claudia. She plays Lotto every day, hoping for the lucky numbers that will make her rich and change her life."
She did get to see his first musical and also his acclaimed most recent one, Hamilton.
"Abuela Mundi is seeing the [matinee]," he tweeted in 2015. "Hope she likes Hamilton better than Heights, to which she said, ‘you had me win the lotto and you KILLED ME?'"
It seems Mundi always had a sense of humor and a smile on her face.
Our thoughts are with Lin-Manuel and his family during this difficult time.