Nezza, a rising Latin pop artist of Colombian-Dominican heritage, took a stand for representation and visibility this past weekend by performing the U.S. national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium — despite being explicitly told not to.
The Bay Area-born singer, dancer, and content creator was invited to sing at the high-profile Dodgers vs. Giants game in Los Angeles. But when game-day staff instructed her to perform in English, she instead honored her culture by delivering an emotional rendition of “El Pendón Estrellado,” the official Spanish translation of “The Star-Spangled Banner” commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945.
“We are gonna do the song in English today,” an off-camera Dodgers employee can be heard saying in a behind-the-scenes video Nezza posted to social media. Her face visibly falls, but she proceeds with conviction — belting the anthem in Spanish, tearfully declaring “Para mi gente” in her caption.
“I stand with you,” she wrote on TikTok. “Yesterday was one of the scariest days of my life. I was told I couldn’t sing in Spanish — but I did. I’m proud I did.”
The performance coincided with “No Kings Day,” a nationwide protest against immigration raids and political exclusion. Nezza later stated: “America’s story includes all of us. Singing in Spanish doesn’t change the anthem’s meaning — it deepens it.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone, she emphasized that the Spanish version is official, accurate, and deeply meaningful for U.S. Latinos. “So why was I told I couldn’t sing it? Make it make sense.”
While the Dodgers organization hasn’t publicly commented in full, a representative told the Los Angeles Times that Nezza is welcome back and won’t face consequences.
Nezza’s debut album is due out later this year, but for many fans, she’s already struck a powerful chord.