graffiti Pete

Graffiti Pete is a graffiti artist. Usnavi believes he is a trouble-making vandal, until he reveals his amazing skills as an artist. Graffiti Pete is an eighteen year old graffiti artist in Washington Heights. The dance sequence of him spray painting Usnavi De La Vega's grate is the opening number of In The Heights. Shortly following Usnavi chasing Pete off, he is seen with various dance partners for the title song. He's seen through out the show interacting with various people and has seemingly good relations with all of them, save for Usnavi who believes he's a good for nothing punk. In the lottery song (96,000), Pete alludes to him having a lot of relationships and partners and Usnavi swiftly reprimands him. In the Club scene, he is seen dancing again with several partners before eventually dancing with Sonny, who he has had a long standing friendship with. He is also believed to be romantically involved with Sonny De La Vega, Usnavi's younger cousin, and it is also believed that this is the reason that Usnavi hates Pete so much. Shortly following the Club, the Blackout begins and Pete sticks close to Sonny as they try to fix the grate and fend off thugs together during the blackout with their weapons of choice being a baseball bat and a backpack full of Roman candles. The day after the Blackout and Abuela's death, Sonny De La Vega commissions Graffiti Pete to paint a mural dedicated to the Barrio's deceased matriarch on the previously broken grate. Usnavi is blown away and decides to stay in the barrio to take care of Sonny and continue to run the corner store, and Graffiti Pete is allowed to finish his painting which had taken him all night with his friend to keep him company.