200 Cartas

200 Cartas is a 2013 bilingual independent Puerto Rican film, written and directed by Bruno Irizarry, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jaime Camil, Dayanara Torres, Monica Steuer and Mayra Matos Pérez.

Synopsis

Struggling nuyorican comic book artist Raúl meets a woman named María Sánchez, who's visiting from Puerto Rico, at a bar in New York City and immediately falls in love with her. After the two part ways and María returns to Puerto Rico, Raúl seeks his friend and coworker Juan to help him find her. They both travel to Puerto Rico to search for María Sánchez, only to find that there are two hundred women with that same name in the phone book. During their search, Yolanda meets Raúl and Juan and offers to help Raúl find the love of his life. Raúl then comes up with writing 200 letters addressed to each María Sánchez found in the phone book and personally contacting or meeting the ones who respond, in hopes of finding the María he met in New York City.

Cast

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Raúl
Jaime Camil as Juan
Dayanara Torres as Yolanda
Monica Steuer as Rebeca
Mayra Matos Pérez as María Sánchez
Víctor Alicea as the husband
Jonathan Louis Ramos as Tito
Marisé Alvarez as Sara
Neville Archambault as Scary Man
Iris Chacón as the Santera
Bruno Irizarry as Marcos
Juan Manuel Lebrón as Don Armando
Luis Raúl as Pedro

Production

Filmed over 17 days in New York and Puerto Rico, the movie grossed an estimated $1 million after its release in June 2013 in New York City, its World Premieres Film Festival showing in the Philippines in July 2013 and its premiere in Puerto Rico in September 2013.

Reception

The film received positive reception from The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter, with The Hollywood Reporter noting that "this is an enjoyable, lighthearted effort that should well please Hispanic audiences in particular."