ALBUQUERQUE — After more than 40 straight rounds Saturday, Evelyn Juárez, an eighth-grader at Carlos Vigil Middle School in Española, took first place in the first-ever National Spanish Spelling Bee.

She outspelled 10 other students with words such as moaxaja (poetic composition written in Arab or Hebrew), paralelepípedo (parallelogram object) and abuhardillado (open space at the top of a house, usually an attic).

But her triumph came — after a 10-minute break and 21 more rounds — when this year's State Spanish Bee champion Germán Rojero, an eighth-grader at Los Lunas Middle School, misspelled kanindeyuense (a native of Kanindeyú, Paraguay).

Judges gave Evelyn that word, and she correctly spelled it. Then she spelled bizantinismo (corrupted by excess luxury) and the audience jumped from their seats to applaud while ESPN Deportes, Univision and other local media captured Evelyn's wide smile as she stood in the middle of a stage at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

Eleven total students participated, including five from New Mexico, three from Texas, two from Oregon and one from Colorado. ESPN and Santillana USA were the major national sponsors.

"I'm really proud. It's a unique opportunity, and I feel really proud (of the accomplishment)," said Evelyn, 13, who has participated in Spanish bees since she was in third grade. At this year's State Spanish Spelling Bee, she placed fourth. Evelyn received a plaque, $500 and a set of Spanish literature books during a Saturday night awards ceremony at the Radisson Hotel in Albuquerque.

Her father, Eduardo Juárez, didn't doubt her skills. He said his daughter's participation in the competition was not only a way to applaud her academic performance, but also to perfect her native language. Eduardo Juárez and wife, Angélica, came to the U.S. from Chihuahua, Mexico, when Evelyn was 2 years old. Evelyn now speaks both Spanish and English.

Evelyn has always been a hard worker and expects nothing but perfection from herself, her mother said. "That's just who she is. I think her intelligence comes from God."

Gladys Herrera-Gurulé, state director of bilingual multicultural education and Title III programs, said she has seen Evelyn grow over the years.

"I have followed her over the years. I still remember her so tiny, sitting on a chair and her feet dangling," said Herrera-Gurulé, who was one of six judges.

The second-place winner was Germán Rojero. His family was just as proud. They moved to the U.S. from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, three years ago, the family said. Germán's father, Raymundo Rojero, said his son knew how to read and write by the time he reached first grade. A teacher in Mexico pushed him to learn, he said.

"When I was pregnant with (Germán), I was studying to become a social worker, so I would read from my textbooks to him," said Germán's mother, María de Jesús Herrera, who is attending college to become a preschool teacher in Los Lunas.

Spanish spelling bees became popular in the mid-'90s when Juan Sánchez, a retired teacher and former bilingual programs director for the Gadsden Independent School District, made his school district's competition into a regional bee in 1994 and then a statewide competition in 1995.

"Our dream with this competition was to give validity to our language, along with bilingual education, so that our children could see that it's of great value to be bilingual," Sánchez said. "We wanted them to feel proud of their own language."

The inaugural event was organized by the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education and the Alliance for Multilingual Multicultural Education.

Ardi Dwornik, ESPN's content development director, said the cable television station supports its Hispanic audience and is "committed to providing the best content for the community." An ESPN team will make a five-minute video to further promote the event and engage potential sponsors, Dwornik said. Next year, the station will air the competition, just like the National English Spelling Bee, she said.

Arturo Castillón, national sales director with Santillana USA, a Spanish language educational publisher based in Miami, said he's positive the event will grow to have a greater number of participants.

"Our vision is to develop and educate our children in Spanish," Castillón said.

Among other major sponsors were Wal-Mart, the Spanish Embassy and Language Magazine in California.

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.



NATIONAL SPANISH SPELLING BEE PARTICIPANTS

New Mexico
Evelyn Juárez, eighth grade, Española Public Schools
Alex González, eighth grade, Lovington Municipal Schools
Antonella Vásquez, sixth grade, Cuba Independent School District
Andrea Ramírez, eighth grade, Gadsden Independent School District
Germán Rojero, eighth grade, Los Lunas Schools

Texas
Mario Pimentel, fifth grade, Lubbock
Azelias Reyes, fourth grade, Lubbock
Linda Rodríguez, eighth grade, East Central Independent Schools

Oregon
Lorenzo Curtis, fifth grade, Beaverton
Lily James, fifth grade, Beaverton

Colorado
Aitana u J. Kampert-Abajo, fourth grade, Boulder