In case you missed it, singer and songwriter Nezza made waves at Dodger Stadium on June 14 when she boldly delivered the National Anthem in Spanish despite being told not to do so before stepping on the field. Her choice to stay true to her roots and voice sent a powerful message that echoed far beyond the stands.
Check this out before the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the San Francisco Giants, the 32-year-old artist, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, performed “El Pendón Estrellado,” the official Spanish-language version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Her rendition came during a tense moment in Los Angeles where protestors gathered for No Kings marches and spoke out against ongoing ICE raids.
Moreover, according to Nezza, she had to push past resistance to make the performance a success. In a now-viral video on TikTok, Nezza revealed that someone affiliated with the team discouraged her from singing the anthem in Spanish.
“Watch the Dodgers tell me I can’t sing the Spanish ‘Star Spangled Banner’ that Roosevelt literally commissioned in 1945,” she wrote in the caption of her video. During the clip, an unnamed person is heard telling her, “We are going to do the song in English today. I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.”
Despite the instruction, Nezza went forward with her original plan. The video cuts to her confidently performing the anthem in Spanish for the entire stadium. She added her message over the footage saying “So I did it anyway.” She also wore a t-shirt honoring the Dominican Republic during the performance.
Now, get this development, in a follow-up video, Nezza offered a more emotional reflection on the moment. “I’m still very shooken up and emotional” she said. “. . . I just got home from singing the national anthem in Spanish at the Dodgers game and it is the official Star Spangled Banner in Spanish.”
Nezza further explained the historical roots of her decision, noting that the Spanish version of the anthem was commissioned in 1945 by the U S State Department as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy. The lyrics were created by Clotilde Arias a Peruvian American composer and served to build stronger cultural ties with Latin America.