A Latin-R&B musician says she’s “proud of herself” for selecting defiance.
Dominican American singer Nezza belted out an emotional rendition of “El Pendón Estrellado,” the official Spanish-language model of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” earlier than a Los Angeles Dodgers recreation on Saturday, amid ongoing anti-deportation protests within the metropolis.
In a video revealed to TikTok, Nezza, whose actual title is Vanessa Hernández, is proven standing behind house plate at Dodgers stadium sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the Dominican Republic flag. As she hits the nationwide anthem’s last excessive notice, the group might be heard enthusiastically applauding.
But, no footage of her highly effective efficiency is featured on any of the Dodgers’ official social media platforms. In response to Nezza, the reason being as a result of she selected to sing the music in Spanish regardless of the crew’s needs.
HuffPost has reached out to the Los Angeles Dodgers for remark, however didn’t obtain a right away response.
In a TikTok revealed to the singer’s account on Saturday after her efficiency, Hernández might be seen being instructed by a Dodgers employees member that “we are going to do the song in English today.” Overlaying textual content within the video reads: “watch the dodgers tell me i can’t sing the spanish star spangled banner that Roosevelt literally commissioned in 1945 … So I did it anyway. ”
“El Pendón Estrellado” was written in 1945 by Clotilde Arias, a Peruvian immigrant who turned a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1942, per the Smithsonian. The U.S. Division of State commissioned Arias to offer an official Spanish translation of the nationwide anthem within the hopes that it will assist “assimilate immigrants into the United States as well as to share its values and patriotism with Central and South America.”
In a follow-up TikTok video revealed Saturday night time, a “shooken up” Nezza instructed her followers that it’s “safe to say I’m never allowed in that stadium ever again.”
“I just felt like I needed to do it, para mi gente [for my people],” she defined.
“My parents are immigrants,” she continued. “They’ve been citizens my whole life at this point, but I just can’t imagine them being ripped away from me. Not now. Not when I was a kid. Never.”
On Sunday, nevertheless, the Dodgers instructed the Los Angeles Occasions that there have been no exhausting emotions, telling a reporter that “there were no consequences from the club regarding the performance and that Nezza would be welcome back at the stadium in the future.”
But this has not stopped followers from criticizing the Dodgers within the remark sections of their official social media accounts.
“Are we allowed to speak Spanish at the stadium when we go to games or will we get kicked out,” one Instagram consumer wrote within the remark part of a totally unrelated submit.
“REMEMBER LATINOS FILL UP YOUR STADIUM!! 🇲🇽🇲🇽” one other Instagram consumer stated in response to a submit highlighting a pitcher on the Dodgers.
“Your silence speaks volumes,” stated one other Instagram consumer.
“Nezza’s performance was beautiful and you owe her a public apology,” a consumer stated in response to a feel-good video that includes younger Dodger followers on TikTok.
“God bless America! God bless Nezza for doing the thing that both unifies us AND stands in truth to power ❤️🤍💙,” echoed one other TikTok consumer.
