Spanish Spelling Bee in Monterey County, anyone?

Evelyn Juárez, a seventh-grader at Carlos F. Vigil Middle School in Santa Cruz, New Mexico, won the first ever National Spanish Spelling Bee last weekend by correctly spelling the word bizantinismo, which means excess luxury.

The contest, which was held at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM, drew contestants from Texas, Oregon, but the majority appeared to be New Mexicans, according to a report by the Albuquerque Journal.

None from California? Coming to think of it, we have speech and essay writing contests in Spanish, but I have yet to hear about Spelling Bees. Some school administrators I know have told me they were looking for more activities to promote and celebrate the use of Spanish, could a Spanish Spelling Bee the one?

Although it was the first ever national, New Mexico has held a state wide competition for 15 years, and in Texas Spanish Spelling Bee have been around for 19. It will be interesting to see if a Spanish Spelling Bee is born in California. Or Monterey County.