Sebastien De La Cruz, known as "El Charro de Oro," was invited back by the San Antonio Spurs to perform the "National Anthem" for a second time. According to the Associated Press, "the Spurs arranged the second performance as a show of support following a run of disparaging tweets about Latinos and immigrants."
During De La Cruz's Game 3 performance, even though the 11-year-old Mariachi singer flawlessly performed his rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner," many people took to Twitter to criticize San Antonio for allowing a boy of Mexican descent to perform the song.
After people questioned his citizenship on the social networking site, the young singer responded by saying he is a proud American and he wasn't going to let the negative comments get to him. He also added that he was a huge fans of the Spurs.
According to the Latin Times, De La Cruz performed a second time "noticeably singing more fiercely and proudly."
After his encore performance he told reporters he was glad the Spurs asked him to come back.
"It makes me feel good about myself," he said. "It makes me feel like, in San Antonio, I know there are people that encourage me to keep on doing what I want to do."
Before letting De LA Cruz take the stage again, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro introduced the little boy to the excited crowd.
"The message is that no matter what someone's background is, we have so many Americans who have true talent," he said. "And Sebastien is one of them."
Once again he received a lot of support from fans including celebrities like Eva Longoria who tweeted her support to the singer.
Gregg Popovich, the Spurs head coach, and Erik Spoelstra, coach for the Miami Heat, also congratulated the boy.
"He's a class act," Popovich said. "Way more mature that most his age. And as much as those comments by those idiots saddens you about your country, he makes you feel the future could be very bright."
