Nezza, a Latin pop singer of Colombian-Dominican origin who grew up in the Bay Area of California, was invited to perform the U.S. national anthem at this weekend’s Dodgers vs. Giants game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Instead of singing in English, as she was apparently instructed to do, Nezza performed a Spanish-language rendition of the national anthem — “para mi gente [for my people],” she said on Sunday (June 15).
The vocalist, dancer and content creator, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, posted a video on social media, showing her perspective of what happened at the L.A. event.
“We are gonna do the song in English today. I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed,” an off-camera voice can be heard telling Nezza, whose crestfallen expression and body language show the singer’s dismay. The clip goes on to show footage of Nezza on the baseball field, overcome with emotion as she belts the last line of “The Star-Spangled Banner” — “El Pendón Estrellado” — en español.
“Para mi gente,” Nezza wrote in the caption, “I stand with you. Yesterday was easily one of the scariest days of my life. I sang ‘El Pendon Estrellado’ the OFFICIAL Spanish star spangled banner (commissioned by President Roosevelt) at the Dodgers game after being told I couldn’t. And I’m so proud that I did.”
“Stay safe. Stay strong. I love you,” said Nezza, who is expected to release her debut full-length album this year.
In a follow-up video uploaded to TikTok, she spoke to the camera and reflected on the experience, her teary eyes still red: “Bear with me, ’cause I’m still very shooken up and emotional.” Of the Spanish translation of the national anthem, “El Pendón Estrellado,” she explained, “It was officially commissioned in 1945 by the U.S. State Department as a part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s good neighbor policy to foster a better relationship with Latin America.”
“I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of ‘no,’ especially because we’re in L.A., and with everything happening … I just could not believe when she walked in and told me ‘no.’ I just felt like I needed to do it,” Nezza said.
She went on to call out the widely protested raids by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that have been occurring in the U.S. under the Trump administration, stating, “Everything I do is out of love, good energy. I’m proud of myself for doing that today because my parents are immigrants. They’ve been citizens like my whole life, at this point. They got documented really early.”
“I just can’t imagine them being ripped away from me. Even at this age, let alone like a little kid. What are they doing?” Nezza said.