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"Almost Like Praying" is a song conceived by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda, who is from New York, is of Puerto Rican descent. Growing up, Miranda spent a month every summer in Puerto Rico visiting family. He had family there during Hurricane Maria.
"Almost Like Praying" is a song under the collective name Artists for Puerto Rico. The song was released on October 6, 2017, by Atlantic Records to support relief efforts in Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria, which struck the island in September 2017. The song debuted at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Digital Songs Sales chart, selling 111,000 downloads and achieving 5.2 million streams in its first week of availability in the United States.
The song is a compilation sung by numerous artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Camila Cabello, Gloria Estefan, Fat Joe, and Marc Anthony. It also includes samples from the song "Maria" from West Side Story. The song title is from that song's line "say it (Maria) soft, and it's almost like praying". Other artists on the song include Rubén Blades, Pedro Capó, Dessa, Luis Fonsi, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex Lacamoire, John Leguizamo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rita Moreno, Ednita Nazario, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos, Gina Rodriguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, PJ Sin Suela, Ana Villafañe and Tommy Torres.
The sound of the Puerto Rican coquí frog can be heard at the beginning and the end of the song. Proceeds from the song are donated in full to the Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program, destined for the victims and survivors of the hurricane on the Isle of Puerto Rico.
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