7th Grader Wins First US Spanish Spelling Bee

The first national Spanish spelling bee has been won by a seventh-grade girl from Santa Cruz, N.M.

Evelyn Juarez, of Carlos F. Vigil Middle School, won by correctly spelling the Spanish word "bizantinismo," which means excess luxury.

The runner-up, German Rojero of Los Lunas Middle School, misspelled "kanindeyuense," someone from a Paraguayan territory.

The event drew students from as far away as Oregon and Texas, though most were from New Mexico.

Organizer David Briseno, who heads New Mexico's Association for Bilingual Education, says the state has had a contest since 1994 but he had been dreaming of a national event for years.

from the AP