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

On Saturday night, vocalist Nezza sang a Spanish mentation of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” besides known arsenic “El Pendón Estrellado,” astatine Dodger Stadium, contempt being told by an unnamed typical of the shot enactment that she sing it successful English.

The 30-year-old popular singer, whose existent sanction is Vanessa Hernández, uploaded the enactment connected TikTok, wherever she proceeded to sing the Spanish mentation anyway. She captioned the video, “para mi gente [heart] I basal with you.”

In a tearful travel up TikTok video, she clarified that her determination to travel done with singing “El Pendón Estrellado” was successful effect to the ongoing migration sweeps passim Los Angeles

“I’ve sang the nationalist anthem galore times successful my beingness but contiguous retired of each days, I could not,” Nezza said successful the TikTok video.

The Dodgers did not contented a nationalist remark connected Nezza’s societal media posts, but a squad authoritative said determination were nary consequences from the nine regarding the show and that Nezza would beryllium invited backmost astatine the stadium successful the future.

“I conscionable don’t recognize however anyone tin ticker the videos that person been surfacing and inactive beryllium connected the incorrect broadside of history,” Nezza told The Times.

Nezza’s show has besides sparked conversations astir the origins of “El Pendón Estrellado,” resurfacing the bequest of a trailblazing Latina composer, Clotilde Arias.

“The lyrics and the communicative are the same,” said Nezza. “We’re inactive saying we’re arrogant to beryllium American.”

In 1945, the U.S. State Department looked to committee a Spanish mentation of the nationalist anthem, per the petition of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who looked to fortify governmental and concern partnerships with Latin American countries amid World War II. His taste efforts aligned with his 1933 Good Neighbor Policy, a Pan-Americanism nonsubjective that helium implemented astatine the commencement of his archetypal word to region the U.S. from earlier decades of equipped intervention.

Although “The Star-Spangled Banner” had already been translated to assorted languages by the clip that President Roosevelt entered office, including 2 Spanish versions, nary versions of the anthem were considered singable. In 1945, the Division of Cultural Cooperation wrong the Department of State, successful collaboration with the Music Educators National Conference, invited submissions for the opus successful Spanish and Portuguese to beforehand American patriotism passim Latin America.

Composer and instrumentalist Arias — who immigrated to New York successful 1923 astatine the property of 22 from Iquitos, Peru — answered the call.

At the time, Arias had already established herself arsenic a formidable copywriter for advertisement agencies, translating jingles and songs successful Spanish for companies similar Alka-Seltzer, Campbell Soup, Ford Motor Co., Coca-Cola (including the translation mentation of Andrews Sisters’ “Rum and Coca-Cola”) and others.

She submitted “El Pendón Estrellado,” which included singable lyrics that conveyed the archetypal patriotic essence of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was accepted arsenic the lone authoritative translation of the nationalist anthem allowed to beryllium sung, according to the National Museum of American History.

However, Arias would dice successful 1959 astatine property 58, leaving the song’s beingness publically chartless until 2006, erstwhile Roger Arias II, her grandson, dug retired drafts of the expanse euphony and drafts hidden successful the garage.

The unexpected find caught the attraction of Marvette Pérez, the precocious curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History who astatine the clip was programming Latino exhibits similar “!Azúcar!: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz.”

To grant Arias’ legacy, Pérez organized an grounds successful 2012 titled “Not Lost successful Translation: The Life of Clotilde Arias,” featuring existent documents and photographs of the songwriter. The grounds besides commissioned the first-ever signaling of “El Pendón Estrellado,” sung by the a cappella ensemble Coral Cantigas nether the philharmonic absorption of Diana Sáez. The DC-chamber choir besides performed during the exhibit’s opening day, which Arias’ son, Roger Arias, property 82 astatine the time, came to see.

“I was determination erstwhile she was penning it,” Roger Arias told NPR astatine the time. “She’d sing it successful her ain mode to spot if it fits, and she would say, ‘How does that sound, sonny?’ And I would accidental thing she did sounded bully to me. So, yes, she struggled done it, but she made it work.”

For Nezza, Arias’ “El Pendón Estrellado” is not lone a awesome of American pride, but besides a surviving portion of forgotten Latino history.

“Latino radical are a immense portion of gathering this nation,” said Nezza. “I deliberation [the song] shows however we are specified an important portion to the communicative of America.”