Singer Nezza performs national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium after team axed it
Rising R&B singer Nezza is going viral for her choice to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game, apparently despite the team's request not to.
In a TikTok the singer posted on Sunday, June 15, Nezza can be seen sporting a Dominican Republic jersey as an unseen woman, presumably with the Dodgers front office, confirms the national anthem should be sung in English. While being told this, Nezza says, "Oh," as her face immediately falls, before the video cuts to the 30-year-old singing in Spanish in Dodger Stadium.
"watch the dodgers tell me i can't sing the spanish star spangled banner that Roosevelt literally commissioned in 1945," Nezza wrote in the onscreen text. "so i did anyway."
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Midway through the clip of Nezza singing, she appears to cover her face out of emotion, before gathering herself to finish out the anthem, to cheers.
She captioned the TikTok: "para mi gente (for my people) i stand with you." The video has been seen over seven million times.
In a separate TikTok later that day, Nezza explained the official "Star Spangled Banner" translation in Spanish was commissioned by President Franklin Roosevelt to build a better relationship with Latin America. "Because of this, I didn't think I would be met with any sort of 'no.' Especially because we're in LA. And with everything happening."
USA TODAY has reached out to the Dodgers and Nezza's rep for comment.
Nezza is likely referring to nationwide protests over the federal government's immigration enforcement, which first erupted in Los Angeles earlier this month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is carrying out a directive from President Donald Trump to find immigrants living in the United States without legal status. His goal is to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants annually. This has sparked a series of sometimes-violent protests in the greater Los Angeles area.
"I just could not believe when she walked in and told me no. But I just felt like I needed to do it," Nezza continued. "And I'm proud of myself for doing that today."
The singer said her parents are immigrants who have been documented for years, but she "just can't imagine them being ripped away from me, even at this age, let alone a little kid. Like, what are we doing?"
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Nezza shared thanks for the support she's received, before adding with a laugh that it's "safe to say I'm never allowed in that stadium ever again."
A team official told the Los Angeles Times that there were no hard feelings over the move and that Nezza would be welcome back in the stadium in the future.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nezza sings national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium
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