Nezza's Spanish anthem at Dodger Stadium ignites debate over team's immigrant support

LOS ANGELES -- As fans removed their caps and stood for the nationalist anthem Saturday nighttime astatine Dodger Stadium, they were met with a astonishing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Latin pop and R&B vocalist Nezza stood successful beforehand of the crowd, closed her eyes and belted the opus retired — successful Spanish.

Her 90-second rendition, and a behind-the-scenes video she shared connected societal media of squad representatives discouraging it beforehand, rapidly went viral and person go a flashpoint for Dodgers fans frustrated by the team’s deficiency of vocal enactment for immigrant communities impacted by the deportation raids crossed the U.S., including galore neighborhoods successful and astir Los Angeles.

Protests implicit the arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents person captured planetary attraction and mostly been held successful areas a abbreviated thrust from Dodger Stadium.

Nezza says adjacent aft the discouragement from the team's representative, she hadn’t yet decided whether to sing successful English oregon Spanish until she walked retired onto the tract and saw the stands filled with Latino families successful Dodger blue.

“This is my infinitesimal to amusement everyone that I americium with them that we person a dependable and with everything that’s happening it's not OK. I'm ace arrogant that I did it. No regrets,” the 30-year-old vocalist told The Associated Press.

The squad has yet to marque a connection connected the grounds regarding the arrests and raids.

Manager Dave Roberts has said helium doesn't cognize capable astir the contented to comment, but Dodgers hitter Kiké Hernández separately spoke retired connected Instagram implicit the weekend.

“I americium saddened and infuriated by what’s happening successful our state and our city,” helium said successful a station successful English and Spanish. “I cannot basal to spot our assemblage being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL radical merit to beryllium treated with respect, dignity and quality rights.”

In her viral TikTok video, Nezza is shown speaking with an off-camera Dodgers worker who tells her, “We are going to bash the opus successful English today, truthful I’m not definite if that wasn’t transferred oregon if that wasn’t relayed.” She’s received an outpouring of enactment since Saturday from celebrities similar Jason Mraz, Kehlani, Chiquis, Ava DuVernay, The Kid Mero, Becky G and more.

“Don’t you situation crook your backs connected america now. We, arsenic a city, person embraced you and request your enactment much than ever. Think astir who fills up your stadium,” said Becky G, addressing the Dodgers successful her Instagram story.

The Spanish-language mentation Nezza sang, “El Pendón Estrellado,” is the authoritative translation of the nationalist anthem and was commissioned successful 1945 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt from Peruvian-American composer Clotilde Arias.

Nezza says her manager instantly received a telephone from an unidentified Dodgers worker saying their clients were not invited astatine the stadium again, but the shot squad said successful a connection to the AP: “There were nary consequences oregon hard feelings from the Dodgers regarding her performance. She was not asked to leave. We would beryllium blessed to person her back.”

Dodger Stadium has a agelong past with migrant communities successful Los Angeles.

Many proudly deterioration Dodger bluish jerseys and merchandise arsenic an hold of their emotion for the metropolis — the squad inactive sells peculiar “Los Dodgers” jerseys connected its authoritative website — and be the stadium’s aggregate practice nights honoring Mexican, Salvadoran, Guatemalan and much migrant communities, including those from extracurricular Latin America. The Dodgers' instrumentality basal is heavy Latino, and the squad is among the prime fewer to connection Spanish-language tv broadcasts.

The franchise is besides often praised for its past seeking retired divers talent, including Jackie Robinson (baseball’s archetypal Black player), Fernando Valenzuela (a Mexican icon who transcended baseball) and Chan Ho Park (the archetypal Korean successful the large leagues).

But the narration is not without tension, with immoderate Mexican American and Latino residents resentful of the team’s forceful eviction of Latino families successful the 1950s to physique Dodger Stadium successful what is popularly known arsenic Chavez Ravine.

Fans person since called for a boycott online, portion others accidental they’d beryllium consenting to instrumentality if the squad spoke out.

“We emotion you. You’ve been truthful overmuch a large portion of our lives. … We would similar to recognize that you emotion america conscionable the same. Or are we conscionable wealth to you?” asked Power 106's Brown Bag Mornings big Letty Peniche successful an Instagram video.

Los Angeles nonmigratory Alora Murray is considering a impermanent boycott.

“Nobody is messing astir astir this,” said Murray. “Los Angeles is built upon the Dodgers. For them to not benignant of beryllium with us, I consciousness similar america boycotting oregon not going to games volition nonstop that message.”

Many successful the Latino assemblage person been sharing videos of stadium information confronting fans who person governmental signs oregon messages connected their clothing.

Longtime Dodger instrumentality Emeli Avalos says she doesn’t judge the squad is apolitical since they released a connection to condemn Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel.

“If it’s truly astir staying retired of politics, past wherefore bash they enactment that? But erstwhile radical down the thoroughfare from them are getting taken, kidnapped, wherefore bash they enactment silent?” she said.

Avalos attended Pride Night connected June 13 wearing a garment that said “Abolish ICE” connected the beforehand and “FDT” — an acronym for an expletive directed astatine President Donald Trump — connected the back. In a fashionable TikTok video, Avalos is seen speaking with Dodgers security. She says she thought she was going to beryllium asked to permission but was alternatively asked to screen the backmost of her garment with her jersey.

“They told me, ‘The beforehand is fine, you conscionable gotta screen the back,’” said Avalos, who said she volition not beryllium returning to the stadium.

Another video of a instrumentality being confronted by information for holding a banner with “ICE” crossed retired circulated online implicit the weekend, furthering disapproval of the team.

When asked astir the incidents, a Dodgers spokesperson pointed to the team's stadium guidelines, which authorities the squad “does not let signs oregon banners of immoderate kind.” Also prohibited is immoderate attire the Dodgers deem — astatine their sole discretion — to beryllium obscene, profane, vulgar, indecent, violent, threatening, abusive oregon prejudiced against immoderate idiosyncratic oregon group.

Nezza does not deliberation she volition instrumentality to the stadium, contempt the Dodgers' statement, but says she hopes her show volition animate others to usage their dependable and talk out.

“It’s conscionable shown maine similar however overmuch powerfulness determination is successful the Latin community,” she said. “We gotta beryllium the dependable close now.”