Expect this to get more attention: Jon Secada apparently sang the Star-Spangled Banner in Spanish at the 2001 presidential inaugural (“Pop star Jon Secada sang the national anthem in English and Spanish.”–Austin American-Statesman, 1/19/2001). Some on the left of the blogosphere have noticed.

And that might not have been the only time. The Miami Herald reported on Bush’s arrival in Philadelphia for the 2000 convention in their August 3 edition with: “The nominee, his wife Laura, erstwhile rival John McCain and his wife Cindy joined [George P.] Bush on a platform where children sang the national anthem – in “Spanglish,” Secada explained.” (Pero…los niños…)

Of course, that was all pre-”our anthem”/Nuestro Himno (a different song), which was a bit of a different world–no Mexican flags en las calles de nuestras ciudades.

Last week, el presidente said “I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English.” And at least we know Jon Secada knows the English version, too.