Last weekend, on June 14, Latina singer Nezza walked into Dodgers stadium as a little-known rising star. Today, she’s being called brave, bold, and a modern-day civil rights activist. Why? Because she did something that was utterly simple yet revolutionary. She sang the official United States national anthem in Spanish. And it nearly got her banned for life.
Nezza Sings the National Anthem in Spanish
On what should’ve been a career highlight, the 30-year-old Colombian-Dominican artist (born Vanessa Hernandez) almost got banned after singing her country’s national anthem. She showed up at a Dodgers home game proudly planning to sing the official Spanish-language version, El Pendón Estrellado, a historically accurate rendition authorized by the U.S. government in 1945.
Instead, moments before the performance, she was told not to. KTLA reports that a Dodgers staffer approached her backstage with a clear directive: English only. Nezza, visibly shaken in a TikTok posted after the game, explained why she chose to defy that instruction:
“It is the official Star Spangled Banner in Spanish. You can Google it. … I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of like ‘no,’ especially because we’re in LA and with everything happening,” she said. “And I’ve sang the national anthem many times in my life, but today, out of all days, I could not. I’m sorry. I just could not believe when she walked in and told me ‘no.’ But I just felt like I needed to do it para mi gente.”
And so she did. She sang the national anthem in Spanish on live television, in front of tens of thousands with zero apology.
Wait. Is That Even Allowed?
Here’s where the story gets interesting: not only is singing The Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish totally allowed, but it’s also a forgotten part of U.S. history.
The version Nezza performed was created by another proud Latina, Clotilde Arias, a Peruvian-American composer and activist commissioned by the U.S. Department of State in 1945. Arias’ translation was part of a World War II-era cultural diplomacy initiative—aka the “Good Neighbor Policy”—meant to strengthen ties with Latin America. Her lyrics mirror the English anthem almost word for word, and hers remains the only official, singable Spanish-language translation recognized by the U.S. government.
Let’s put that in simpler terms: Nezza was following protocol, just one that too many people forgot existed.
Was There Backlash? Oh, Absolutely.
Following her viral performance, the Dodgers issued a PR Band-Aid, saying, “She was not asked to leave. We would be happy to have her back.” But Nezza tells a different story.
“Before I even left the stadium, we were told verbatim: ‘Don’t ever call us again, don’t ever email us again, your clients are never welcome here ever again,’ and then they hung up,” she told NBC4.
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The majority of her fans, and new followers, are proud of Nezza.
“She’ll never sing for the Dodgers again. Good for her. These are the ‘sacrifices’ we must make for progress,” one commenter on TikTok wrote.
Even with the team walking back their reaction, Nezza’s heart doesn’t seem to be in a reunion. “Regardless if I’m welcome back,” she said. “I don’t feel welcome to come back.”
Who Is Nezza?
Her newfound fame has many asking: who is Nezza? The daughter of immigrants was born in Northern California, and is of Dominican and Colombian decent. Nezza grew up in a bilingual home and moved to L.A. to chase her dreams. From music and dance to YouTube videos and mental health advocacy, she’s part Gen Z pop star, part digital soul sister. And now, she’s the face of a larger, national conversation.
“I really just wanted to go out there and make the Latin community feel included,” she said.
She did.
And, as the audience witnessed, Nezza didn’t yell, march, or angrily flip a table to get the Latino community’s attention. She just sang. And, by choosing Spanish (a language spoken at home by over 41 million Americans) she lit a fire under a long-smoldering truth: Latinos are part of America. They’ve always been here. They’ve always contributed. And they’re not going anywhere.
Thank you, Nezza.
Feature photo credit: TikTok @babynezza.
