Mexican-American boy singing National Anthem at NBA finals attacked online
June 12
BY LISA GUTIERREZ
The Kansas City Star
We bet little 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz’s family was so proud of him Tuesday night as he sang the National Anthem before game 3 of the NBA finals in San Antonio.
Angry racists online attacked this little boy, Sebastien De La Cruz, after he sang the National Anthem at the NBA finals game in San Antonio.
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And then, unbelievable ugliness spewed forth on Twitter as he sang.
Racist, unbelievable ugliness such as these comments:
“What’s up with this little Mexican kid singin the anthem at the heat game?” Jack Wadden @wadden23.
“Who dat lil #Wetback sangin the national anthem at the #Heat game????” TJ THA DJ @Tj_THA_Dj.
“9 out of 10 chance that kid singing the national anthem is illegal.” Domenic DeGregorio @UncleD37.
“Is this the American National Anthem or the Mexican Hat Dance? Get this lil kid out of here.” Steven David @A1R_STEVEN.
“One of the Three Amigas child singing the National Anthem Julie! Lol” Silky Johnson @Roger4Mayor.
“You really had a Mexican sing the national anthem? Go to hell San Antonio.” Blake Jackson Warner @Uncle_Rico25.
But the real joke?
This Twitter hashtag: #GoHome.
To which we say: #TryAgain.
Because little Sebastien – hailed as “the boy with the golden voice” last year when he competed on “America’s Got Talent” – lives in San Antonio.
It’s not like he messed up the song, either. That's pretty amazing, considering that he was reportedly a last-minute replacement for former Hootie & the Blowfish front man Darius Rucker.
So what was it? The mariachi costume?
“The kid was fantastic,” Chase Hoffberger on DailyDot.com reported. “A few minutes before tipoff, he walked out onto the court in full mariachi get-up and sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ with so much strength that you could fully believe in the American dream.
“The kid was dynamic. He was theatrical as it gets. He hit all the high notes. He stayed long on the low notes.”
Sebastien heard about the Twitter attacks. But the fifth-grader took a mature-beyond-his-age high road. On his own Twitter account, @selcharrodeoro, he wrote: “Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American life.”
San Antonio's mayor, Julian Castro, was one of hundreds of people who offered the boy words of support, writing on his Facebook page: "Don't let a few negative voices get you down. You are a true talent and you represent the best of our nation's future!”
In an interview today, Sebastien said that people don't know his life. "My father was actually in the Navy for a pretty long time, and I actually salute him today for that and I just wanna thank him," he said. “People don't know, they just assume that I'm just a Mexican. But I'm not from Mexico, I’m from San Antonio born and raised, true San Antonio Spurs fan.”
Sebastien told his mom not to cry about what people had said about him, but to save her tears for joy when he sings.
“I'd rather shed more happy tears than sad tears,” said Stacy De La Cruz. “But I will say this: As a mom, a parent, I'm going to be overprotective. I'm going to look over my shoulder, over their shoulder. We have four children. I'm going to be looking over all of them. (But as for those negative) words, it's always that saying, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt.'”
Who wants to bet the Spurs (or lots of other teams) invite Sebastien to sing again?
If the First Amendment protects freedom of religion, as well as freedom of speech, how can it be a "Goddamned First Amendment"?
I love questions that answer themselves.
0 Replies
tsarstepan
2
Reply
Fri 14 Jun, 2013 09:44 am
@edgarblythe,
Quote:
So what was it? The mariachi costume?
If people are reacting negatively because of that, he's freaking 11. Even he will look back when he's a grownup and roll his eyes at his own wearing of that goofy costume. 11 year olds given a period of grace where they will be forgiven for having bad/over the top fashion sensibility.
No. People are reacting because they are racist fools who don't believe people who look like him should be Americans.
The kid is a mariachi singer. That is his claim to fame and the reason he was asked to sing the national anthem.. He was dressed appropriately. That is hardly a goofy costume.
I figured it was racism. Just jesting a little bit. As for his supposed famous statue? ((scratches noggin)) Um... okay. I'll have to concede that point to you as I never have heard of him before. Fame is quite relative I suppose.
He maybe a mariachi and dressed appropriately. I still think (subjectively) that its a goofy costume. All mariachis wear goofy costumes (IMHO). It's the nature of being a mariachi.
He sang again last night and once again nailed it.
0 Replies
Ceili
3
Reply
Fri 14 Jun, 2013 11:57 am
@tsarstepan,
The custom (costume) actually comes from Spain. These suits are works of art with impeccable tailoring. My friend married a catalonian/mexican, he and his brothers wore their suits at the wedding. They were stunning.
I wasn't saying the mariachi uniform was goofy because it was of Mexican origins or not. I was just saying I consider the style as too flamboyantly silly NO matter where they originated from.
I saw him sing on America's got Talent, and he blew me away. He has one hell of a singing voice.
The idiots attacking him are all about as sharp as bowling balls, and simply not worth paying attention to.
Wrong Mysteryman, They are certainly worth paying attention to.
These people are tied to the Tea Party and, by proxy, to the core of the Republican party. They are the reason that the GOP led House will have such a hard time passing an immigration bill that three quarters of Americans support.
I am not going to let conservatives hide their ugliness under the carpet, especially when it has such a real impact on our social policy. There is a price to be paid for pandering to racists.
I said, there is a price to pay for pandering to racists. Conservatives, as a movement, pander to racists. That doesn't mean that every conservative is a racist.
It does mean that all of the anti-Hispanic things that conservatives do, from supporting Joe Arpaio, to making wild claims about Hispanic intelligence and criminality, to attacking the Spanish language, are fair game.
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