Last Sunday, at Dodger Stadium, before a game of the main baseball team of Los Angeles against San Francisco, the singer Nezza surprised by singing the national anthem in Spanish, an official adaptation that originated over 80 years ago when the U.S. government was looking for a translation that represented the patriotic ideals of the country.
It was in 1945, during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, that a formal Spanish version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was commissioned. The original song was written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key.
What is the origin of the United States national anthem?
The anthem, whose name refers to the flag that was waving over Fort McHenry in Baltimore after an intense battle against the British, was conceived during the War of 1812.
The scene witnessed by Key in September 1814 inspired him to write the verses that would later be accompanied by the melody of a piece by the Anacreontic Society, a London group of music enthusiasts.
When was the lyrics of the national anthem adapted into Spanish?
Although the anthem was officially adopted in 1931, several translations into different languages were already circulating, including two into Spanish. However, it was not until the last months of World War II that the Department of State, through its Division of Cultural Cooperation, joined forces with the National Conference of Music Educators to select an official Spanish version for diplomatic and cultural purposes, especially for Latin America.
A translator and composer born in Peru, Clotilde Arias, was responsible for developing a faithful translation. Her work was the only one officially approved for public performances and was called “El Pendón Estrellado”. According to documents from the Department of State dated May 16, 1946, Arias signed a contract for $150 to carry out a “satisfactory translation.”
According to NBC Los Angeles, her son Roger recalled, in a 2012 interview with NPR, how his mother worked at their Brooklyn home fine-tuning every line. “I was there when she wrote it,” he recounted. “She sang it her way to see if it fit, and she would ask me, ‘How does that sound, son?’ And I would tell her that everything she did sounded good to me. So yes, it was hard work for her, but she did it.”
Why did Nezza sing the anthem in Spanish?
Nezza’s performance on Sunday was more than an artistic choice. In statements to The Associated Press, she expressed that she felt driven by the presence of the Latino audience in the stadium. “This is my moment to show everyone that I am with them, that we have a voice, and that with everything that is happening, it is not right,” she said. “I am super proud to have done it. I have no regrets.”
The artist, whose name is Vanessa Hernández and who has Dominican and Colombian origins through her parents, confessed that she had not decided in which language to sing until the moment she stepped onto the field. Seeing the stands full of Latin families dressed in the team’s colors, she opted for the Spanish version. A video posted by her on TikTok shows how, before going on stage, an employee of the team had indicated to her that the anthem would be in English, although it was not clear if there was a lack of communication.
Despite the improvisation, the Dodgers organization clarified that there were no consequences for her linguistic choice. “There were no consequences or hard feelings on the part of the Dodgers regarding her interpretation,” the team expressed in an official statement. “She was not asked to leave. We would be happy to have her back.”
Nezza’s performance took place amidst the ongoing raids by masked agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) against migrants in Los Angeles. In fact, this Thursday, ICE agents showed up at Dodger Stadium, but the team denied them entry.