Yes! There is an official Spanish version of the U.S. national anthem

Photo: Gerald Farinas.

In 1945, during World War II, the U.S. government wanted to build better relationships with Latin American countries.

As part of that effort, the State Department asked for a Spanish version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that could be sung to the same tune.

The winner of that contest was a Peruvian-American woman named Clotilde Arias, a composer and writer living in New York.

Arias became a U.S. citizen in 1942.

She worked hard to make sure her Spanish translation kept the meaning, rhythm, and rhyme of the original.

She was paid $150 for her work (about $2,100 today).

In 1946, her version—“El Pendón Estrellado”—became the official Spanish version of the U.S. national anthem.

For a long time, few people knew about this version. But in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the anthem was recorded again by singer Jeidimar Rijos. It was part of a campaign to honor Hispanic frontline workers and remind Americans that Spanish speakers are a vital part of this country.

This weekend, singer Nezza performed the Spanish version at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles—even though the team told her to sing in English. She went ahead and sang it in Spanish anyway, later performing it again at a Giants game in San Francisco.

Her bold choice made headlines and reminded many people of the anthem’s deeper message: America belongs to all of us.

Why this matters

The Spanish anthem was created to help connect the U.S. with Latin America.

Its use by Nezza was a protest. It is a reminder that this nation also belongs to millions of Americans who migrated to the U.S. and made it home—despite even U.S. citizens being “accidentally” rounded up in immigration enforcement raids under the direction of President Trump.

Its use shows that Spanish-speaking Americans are part of the nation’s story. And in the case of California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, the border historically crossed the people and not the other way around.