The Nonprofit organization We Are All Human Foundation (WAAH), which seeks to celebrate and promote diversity and inclusion, commissioned a brand-new recording of the national anthem as part of its Hispanic Star campaign, highlighting the important role Hispanic Americans are playing in the fight against COVID-19.
Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned an official Spanish version of the National Anthem, El Pendón Estrellado, a version particularly relevant today representing Hispanic Americans.
“The Spanish version of the U.S. national anthem is a treasure as it represents U.S. Hispanics, who are both 100-percent Hispanic and 100-percent American,” said Claudia Romo Edelman, founder and CEO of WAAH, upon the release of a newly recorded version of the anthem. “It is especially relevant now because U.S. Hispanics are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and also disproportionately exposed since we are not only truck drivers, medical workers, and food producers, but also a significant portion of the service workers who have been laid off from hotels, restaurants and small businesses.”
The new rendition is by Jeidimar Rijos, the 2019 winner of “La Voz” (the Spanish-language version of “The Voice”), and debuted online along with a video featuring images of the Hispanic workers on the front lines of America’s fight against COVID-19.
