Singer Vanessa Hernández says she chose to sing the Spanish version of the US national anthem at Dodger Stadium on Saturday as a protest against recent immigration raids.
Hernández, who performs under the name Nezza, says she was warned by a member of the Dodgers staff before the team’s game against the San Francisco Giants to perform the anthem in English.
After her performance Hernández posted a video to TikTok, with the caption “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.” The video shows an apparent conversation with the Dodgers staff member. “We are going to do the song in English today, so I don’t know if that wasn’t translated – er, communicated,” the employee says.
However, Hernández went on to sing El Pendón Estrellado, which the US government commissioned as the Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner in 1945. She explained her decision in another social media video.
“I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of ‘No,’ especially because we’re in LA with everything happening,” said Hernández whose parents are from the Dominican Republic. “I’ve sang the national anthem many times in my life, but today 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 [for my people].
“My parents are immigrants. They’ve been citizens my whole life at this point, they got documented really early, but I just can’t imagine them being ripped away from me, even at this age, let alone a little kid. Like, what are we doing?”
The Dodgers have yet to comment on the incident but The Athletic reports the club did not punish her for her decision.
Hernández was not the only person over the weekend to make a statement on the immigration raids in LA. Angel City, LA’s NWSL team, wore shirts that proclaimed themselves “Immigrant City Football Club” before Saturday night’s game against the North Carolina Courage.
