Nezza may have reportedly faced backlash from the Los Angeles Dodgers after singing the national anthem in Spanish on June 14, but the Latin pop singer who grew up in California’s Bay Area is proud of what she did, and is urging others to speak out in support of what’s right.
“Look at everything that’s been happening. When I originally got booked for it, the state of L.A. was very different … and as we got closer to the date, I was like, ‘I feel like I have to do something,’” the artist, who is of Colombian-Dominican origin, told guest host Diego Luna during her Monday (June 23) appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “I feel like this would be a really just beautiful gesture out of love.”
Nezza shared that one week ahead of her performance, she and her team asked if she could perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” in both English and Spanish, and was told simply, “You have 90 seconds.” That led her to consider performing in Spanglish, but three days before she was set to appear at Dodgers Stadium, Nezza said even more was happening in terms of ICE raids in the city. Then, a friend pointed out to her that she also happened to be performing on the day planned for the No Kings nationwide protest.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, look at God. Perfect. I’ll do it fully in Spanish.’ So I went into that stadium fully thinking I was OK because all they said was ‘You have 90 seconds,’” explained the singer, who performed the national anthem’s Spanish translation “El Pendón Estrellado,” which was the U.S. Department of Defense commissioned in 1945 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy focused on improving the relationship of the U.S. and Latin American countries. “I went in there with a smile on my face … I thought it was going to be this fun, beautiful day getting to do this for my Latino community. And as obviously everyone knows at this point, this isn’t what happened.”
Nezza previously told Variety after the performance that even before she had made it out of the stadium, she was told to never contact the Dodgers again, and that she wasn’t welcome back. That conflicted with the statement a spokesperson for the team had released, saying that “there were no consequences or hard feelings,” and that they would be “happy” to have her return. Billboard previously reached out to the Dodgers, but did not hear back.
The singer went on to explain to Luna on the late-night show that she was incredibly nervous to perform the song in Spanish. “I’ve never broken a rule in my life. I can’t even cut in line! So if teenage me saw that video of what I did, I think she would pass out from anxiety,” Nezza said. “I still have no words for what came over me, but I’m so happy that I did it.”
Luna, who portrays Cassian Andor on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Andor, said he was really happy that the singer was sharing her story. “Things like that is what a first generation should be doing,” he said. “You can get out there and be disruptive and do whatever feels natural.”
Nezza agreed. “If you’re going to take away one thing, just look at the outcome of what happened,” she advised. “The Latino community fully came in to support me, I hope people take this as ‘Don’t be scared, speak out,’ because I was so terrified to speak out, but I’m so happy that I did because it showed how powerful the Latin community is when you band together.”
Watch Nezza’s interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! above.
