Singer says she has no regrets about performing the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium
"I'm not scared to voice my opinion on things anymore because my people, they're there," singer Nezza told Eyewitness News.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Colombian-Dominican performer is speaking to Eyewitness News after a video of her singing the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium went viral.
Singer Nezza made the daring decision even though the team asked her not to.
The Dodgers told Eyewitness News they would be happy to have Nezza back, but she says that is not what they told her manager. Now, the singer says she is focusing on the good.
It's been a whirlwind for Nezza since she performed the Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish as an act of defiance and as solidarity with immigrant communities at Saturday's Dodger game.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Singer speaks out after performing national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium
"I've been so overly surprised by just all the love and support, but that's the Latino community, you know?" Nezza said. "We're passionate. We band together. We're powerful, and it's been really beautiful to see."
Nezza says she's received messages of support from some people who were in the stands at Dodger Stadium, and she heard them in the moment, too.
"I'm shocked that they let me finish it. But it wasn't until I took out my in-ears that I heard the roar," she said.
She performed "El Pendon Estrellado," a Spanish-language translation commissioned by the U.S. State Department in the 1940s. It was written by Clotilde Arias, a Peruvian immigrant.
The National Museum of American History houses an exhibit of her story. Like Nezza, she was multilingual and moved to pursue music.
The museum writes that she wore many hats: translator, musician, journalist, and activist, to name a few.
Nezza -- who is a singer, songwriter, and dancer -- is a Bay Area native who moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams.
"My parents are both immigrants -- mom's Dominicana, dad's Colombiano," Nezza said. "They came here, you know, with nothing, dream, and, you know, where would I be without them?"
Nezza also has a popular YouTube platform and writes music in "Spanglish," combining the languages and cultures that shaped her.
"How fun to do music where you can kind of cater to both sides so that everyone is included and everyone can sing a part of the song," she said, adding that non-Spanish speakers learn the lyrics, too.
Although the Dodgers say there were no consequences for Nezza's performances, she says afterward, a representative of the Dodgers called her manager.
"She said, 'Don't email us again. Don't ever call us again. Your clients aren't welcome here ever again.' So I got out of there," Nezza said.
Nezza says she doesn't regret her decision to perform in Spanish, but says she would have regretted it for the rest of her life if she hadn't.
"I'm not scared to voice my opinion on things anymore because my people, they're there. They've proven to me that they're there for me, and I will do it over and over and over for them," she said.
Many fans have condemned the Dodgers organization and called on the team to release a statement regarding the immigration arrests and raids unfolding in Southern California.
Eyewitness News reached out to ask if they had a statement and followed up, but has not received a statement on the subject yet.
RELATED: Fans push Dodgers and other teams and artists to speak out about ICE raids in SoCal
