Nezza Sang the National Anthem in Spanish at a Dodgers Game After She Was Told Not to

Before a Los Angeles Dodgers game on June 14, the singer Nezza took the field and sang the U.S. national anthem in Spanish. After she did so, she suggested that the Dodgers had insisted that the anthem had to be in English, but she ignored their order and sang the song in Spanish anyway.

Now, many are wondering why Nezza decided to sing the song in Spanish, and why the Dodgers were so insistent that she sing it in English. Here's what we know:

Nezza sang the song, “El Pendón Estrellado," instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner." She made the decision in the aftermath of a week of protests in Los Angeles that were held in response to ICE raids happening in the community. Those protests led Donald Trump to call in the national guard over the objections of the state's governor, which further escalated tensions and led to even more protests.

In a video posted to her TikTok, Nezza, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, wrote “Watch the Dodgers tell me I can’t sing the Spanish ‘Star Spangled Banner’ that Roosevelt literally commissioned in 1945.”

In the video, you can hear someone say “We are going to do the song in English today,” an unidentified person tells Nezza in the video. “I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.” The video then cuts to her Spanish rendition along with the text "So I did it anyway."

Nezza also posted a follow-up video in which she provided some additional context. “I'm still very shooken up and emotional,” she said. “... I just got home from singing the national anthem in Spanish at the Dodgers game, and it is the official Star Spangled Banner in Spanish.”

She went on to explain that the lyrics for her version were commissioned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945 as part of his broader Good Neighbor Policy.

“Because of this, I didn't think I would be met with any sort of like, no, especially because we're in LA and with everything happening,” she explained, referencing the protests that were part of her motivation. “And I've sung the national anthem many times in my life, but there was today out of all days, I could not. I’m sorry. Yeah, 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.”

Although there were some rumors that the singer had been banned from Dodgers stadium following the incident, it doesn't seem like that's actually the case. A spokesperson for the team told The Los Angeles Times that there would be no consequences for Nezza's actions and that she would be welcomed back at the stadium any time. Nezza said that she was "proud of herself" for doing it, even though she faced some resistance along the way.