On Monday Latino icons Jennifer Lopez and 'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda performed for the first time their musical tribute for the Orlando victims and their families, "Love Make the World Go Round." After their epic performance, the two stars of Puerto Rican heritage sat down with NBC Latino contributor Jack Rico to talk about why they were so compelled to raise their voices for Orlando.
Lopez said she had written the song eight months ago. But after the shooting, in which 49 people were shot to death at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, she realized the song about the power of love, was needed now. She called Miranda and they partnered to create the piece.
For the two, it was personal. JLo said many of her friends are gay, it was Latino night at the Pulse nightclub the night of the shooting, and many of the Latino victims were Puerto Rican. She said that her first reaction was 'What is happening?' But she also realized she had a job to do.
"It is our responsibility to do this right now," Lopez said. "We have to let people know that they're going to be okay, that they're going to survive and we can make things better. That actually we can make change."
"It's so easy in these moments when there's so much violence to say, 'you're not like me' — that's the opposite of what needs to happen right now," said JLo.
Lin-Manuel Miranda thought the idea was brilliant, because there is no better way "to counteract an act of hate, with an act of love, and of music."
You can download "Love Make the World Go Round" here.
See their performance below.
