The Fourth of July is just around the corner, which means it’s time to attend local parades, binge-watch patriotic TV specials or movie marathons at home, or enjoy a BBQ at the beach or park with the family.
In honor of the patriotic day, Billboard is revisiting seven times that Latinos sang the U.S. National Anthem.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Related
Check out the videos below.
Carlos Santana became a trending topic on Twitter back in 2015 thanks to his incredibly cool, instrumental rock version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the NBA final, with wife Cindy Blackman Santana killing it on drums.
As it turns out, Latin artists have been delivering extraordinary — and sometimes groundbreaking — renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for quite a while. It started back in 1968 with José Feliciano‘s mind-blowing, bluesy version before Game 5 of the World Series at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. It sounded nothing like the National Anthem anyone had heard before and unleashed a maelstrom of controversy, with many radio stations banning Feliciano’s music.
“There was nothing wrong with what I did,” Feliciano said in an interview years later. “Now everybody sings the national anthem the way they want. At that time, nobody sang the national anthem with soul or heart. And I said, the hell with it, I’m going to do something different.”
After a glorious rendition of “God Bless America” during an all-star MLB game in Citi Field, Marc Anthony got lambasted by critics who objected to his being an “undocumented immigrant.” As Anthony would later clarify, he is born and raised in New York and has actually performed both “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America” dozens of times. This particular rendition from a Miami Heat game in 2012, earned raved reviews from posters who called it the “best rendition ever.”
And of course, Latin queen Gloria Estefan has had her share of renditions, like this one at Walt Disney World in 2007.
And how about this endearing — and excellent — version by a just-starting Fifth Harmony at a 2013 Service Master 200 race?
SEBASTIEN DE LA CRUZ
Mexican artists don’t stay behind either! In 2013, American Idol contestant and Mexican charro Sebastien de la Cruz sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the 2013 NBA Finals.
MARIACHI SOL DE MEXICO
Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez also rocked their version of the National Anthem at a Dodgers and Mets baseball game.