logo
¿Por qué Nezza cantó el himno nacional en español en el juego de los Dodgers? 'necesitaba hacerlo'

¿Por qué Nezza cantó el himno nacional en español en el juego de los Dodgers? 'necesitaba hacerlo'

USA Today5 hours ago

The feels are real when a student choir sings the Star Spangled Banner
3,000 students gathered to sing the Star-Spangled Banner at the Hyatt Regency in Louisville during the Kentucky Music Educators Conference.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nezza's translated national anthem shines light on a forgotten Latina trailblazer
Nezza's translated national anthem shines light on a forgotten Latina trailblazer

Los Angeles Times

time2 hours ago

  • Los Angeles Times

Nezza's translated national anthem shines light on a forgotten Latina trailblazer

On Saturday night, singer Nezza sang a Spanish version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' also known as 'El Pendón Estrellado,' at Dodger Stadium, despite being told by an unnamed representative of the baseball organization that she sing it in English. The 30-year-old pop singer, whose real name is Vanessa Hernández, uploaded the interaction on TikTok, where she proceeded to sing the Spanish version anyway. She captioned the video, 'para mi gente [heart] I stand with you.' In a tearful follow up TikTok video, she clarified that her decision to follow through with singing 'El Pendón Estrellado' was in response to the ongoing immigration sweeps throughout Los Angeles 'I've sang the national anthem many times in my life but today out of all days, I could not,' Nezza said in the TikTok video. The Dodgers did not issue a public comment on Nezza's social media posts, but a team official said there were no consequences from the club regarding the performance and that Nezza would be welcome back at the stadium in the future. 'I just don't understand how anyone can watch the videos that have been surfacing and still be on the wrong side of history,' Nezza told The Times. Nezza's performance has also sparked conversations about the origins of 'El Pendón Estrellado,' resurfacing the legacy of a trailblazing Latina composer, Clotilde Arias. 'The lyrics and the story are the same,' said Nezza. 'We're still saying we're proud to be American.' In 1945, the U.S. State Department looked to commission a Spanish version of the national anthem, per the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who looked to strengthen political and business partnerships with Latin American countries amid World War II. His cultural efforts aligned with his 1933 Good Neighbor Policy, a Pan-Americanism objective that he implemented at the start of his first term to distance the U.S. from earlier decades of armed intervention. Although 'The Star-Spangled Banner' had already been translated to various languages by the time that President Roosevelt entered office, including two Spanish versions, no versions of the anthem were considered singable. In 1945, the Division of Cultural Cooperation within the Department of State, in collaboration with the Music Educators National Conference, invited submissions for the song in Spanish and Portuguese to promote American patriotism throughout Latin America. Composer and musician Arias — who immigrated to New York in 1923 at the age of 22 from Iquitos, Peru — answered the call. At the time, Arias had already established herself as a formidable copywriter for ad agencies, translating jingles and songs in Spanish for companies like Alka-Seltzer, Campbell Soup, Ford Motor Co., Coca-Cola (including the translation version of Andrews Sisters' 'Rum and Coca-Cola') and others. She submitted 'El Pendón Estrellado,' which included singable lyrics that conveyed the original patriotic essence of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' It was accepted as the only official translation of the national anthem allowed to be sung, according to the National Museum of American History. However, Arias would die in 1959 at age 58, leaving the song's existence publicly unknown until 2006, when Roger Arias II, her grandson, dug out drafts of the sheet music and drafts hidden in the garage. The unexpected find caught the attention of Marvette Pérez, the late curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History who at the time was programming Latino exhibits like '!Azúcar!: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz.' To honor Arias' legacy, Pérez organized an exhibit in 2012 titled 'Not Lost in Translation: The Life of Clotilde Arias,' featuring real documents and photographs of the songwriter. The exhibit also commissioned the first-ever recording of 'El Pendón Estrellado,' sung by the a cappella ensemble Coral Cantigas under the musical direction of Diana Sáez. The DC-chamber choir also performed during the exhibit's opening day, which Arias' son, Roger Arias, age 82 at the time, came to see. 'I was there when she was writing it,' Roger Arias told NPR at the time. 'She'd sing it in her own way to see if it fits, and she would say, 'How does that sound, sonny?' And I would say anything she did sounded good to me. So, yes, she struggled through it, but she made it work.' For Nezza, Arias' 'El Pendón Estrellado' is not only a symbol of American pride, but also a living piece of forgotten Latino history. 'Latino people are a huge part of building this nation,' said Nezza. 'I think [the song] shows how we are such an important piece to the story of America.'

Dodger Stadium singer confirms she performed national anthem in Spanish to protest ICE, in defiance of team
Dodger Stadium singer confirms she performed national anthem in Spanish to protest ICE, in defiance of team

Yahoo

time7 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Dodger Stadium singer confirms she performed national anthem in Spanish to protest ICE, in defiance of team

An interesting national anthem was performed at Dodger Stadium on Saturday — and not because the team wanted it. Rather than sing the traditional "The Star-Spangled Banner," Vanessa Hernández, who performs under the name Nezza, sang 'El Pendón Estrellado,' the official Spanish version of the anthem commissioned by the U.S. government under Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. Advertisement She apparently did so in defiance of the Dodgers' instructions, as she posted a TikTok following the performance showing an unidentified employee explicitly telling her the song should be in English. "We are going to do the song in English today, so I don't know if that wasn't translated — er, communicated," the employee said. Nezza's 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." Wearing a shirt with the flag and colors of her native Dominican Republic, an emotional Nezza paused for tears before delivering the song's final line. In a different video, Nezza confirmed that she performed the song as a protest on the part of the Latino community as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency continues to carry out raids in Los Angeles: "I didn't think I would be met with any sort of 'No,' especially because we're in L.A. with everything happening. 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?" Despite Nezza saying "Safe to say I'm never allowed in that stadium ever again," The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya reports that she was not punished or ejected from Dodger Stadium and is not expected to be banned from the stadium. The team reportedly declined comment on her videos. Advertisement The Dodgers won Saturday's game 11-5. Nezza ignored a request from the Dodgers amid a protracted dispute over ICE raids in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) How have Los Angeles teams responded to the ICE raids? ICE has been raiding locations throughout Los Angeles since June 6, triggering protests across the city and major political disputes between local politicians and President Donald Trump's administration, most notably the arrest of Sen. Alex Padilla while confronting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass have urged ICE to leave, but Trump has gone as far as mobilizing the California National Guard and deploying hundreds of Marines in the city. Advertisement A federal judge ruled Friday that Trump's federalization of the National Guard was illegal, but the order to return control to Newsom has been paused pending an appeal this week. Trump himself has somewhat backtracked amid the chaos, directing officers to halt arresting employees at farms, hotels and restaurants. Arrests have continued at other locations. The Dodgers and many of the other major teams in the Los Angeles area have largely remained silent about the current events, though exceptions include MLS's LAFC and the NWSL's Angel City. LAFC released a statement expressing solidarity with the community amid "fear and uncertainty," while Angel City went a step further with shirts reading "Immigrant City Football Club." Individual members of the Dodgers organization have spoken out on Instagram as well. Advertisement Veteran utility man Kiké Hernández said he is "saddened and infuriated by what's happening in our country and our city," and that he "cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart." Former Dodgers first baseman Adrián González, who now works for the team as a broadcaster, called the raids "unconstitutional" and "illegal," urging the government to stop separating families. Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has spoken on social justice issues in the past, pleaded ignorance about the issues on Friday, per The Athletic: 'Honestly, I don't know enough, to be quite honest with you. I know that when you're having to bring people in and deport people, all the unrest, it's certainly unsettling for everyone. But I haven't dug enough and can't speak intelligently on it.' Perhaps Hernández can give him some details.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store