*WEB CONTINUATION: This article originally appeared in Volume 105 Issue 3 of our news magazine, Amplifier.

Spanish and French classes participate in their own musical version of March Madness each year. Similar to March Madness, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Division 1 basketball tournament, the world language classes vote in different brackets for their favorite songs released in the past year. 

In 2022, the Spanish classes started to participate in the worldwide competition of “Locura de Marzo,” which translates to March Madness. Lisa Rodriguez, Spanish teacher, starts the competition with her class at the end of every February.

“Spanish teachers just know that it is a thing. There is this one Spanish teacher from Michigan, Señor Ashby, and he creates it every year with the help of some other teachers,” Rodriguez said. 

“Locura de Marzo” happens in all the levels of Spanish at the high school, however, the tradition may vary depending on how much time each class has. For example, the Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish classes watch the videos on their own time and vote when they can since they have to spend most of their class time preparing for the AP Spanish Test. 

“We are following the national schedule, so they have the voting open for usually two days. And because of the A/B schedule, I don’t always see students on voting days. Now I just keep up with it on Google Classroom,” Rodriguez said. 

World Language programs not only teach a language but also expose the students to the culture. 

“Locura de Marzo exposes them to more music in Spanish. I know some students add the songs we listen to to their playlists and it gives them more variety,” Rodriguez said. 

The language departments also try to do field trips and more activities to share the culture with the students, but limited financial resources inhibit a high quantity of activities that can be done. 

“There are things I would love to go to, like the Milagro theater in Northeast Portland. They put on a lot of productions in Spanish, and they are very historical and show an in-depth view of Hispanic culture. Things like buses and basic things we are usually funded for, but when it comes to admission [that’s] something that is usually on the student,” Rodriguez said. 

Dating back to 2017, “Manie Musicale” has given French students the opportunity to vote in the worldwide musical competition. Erin O’Malley teaches the French program at the high school. 

“It started with two French teachers in Maine, and they were both interested in basketball, and then just thought of creating the competition to give students more exposure to French music,” O’Malley said. 

Manie Musicale does not just take place in America, even though that’s where it began.

“It’s massive. Every country in the world participates, that’s like hundreds of thousands of students in classrooms all around the world,” O’Malley said.

In O’Malley’s class, they listen to all of the songs during February, and then set up their bracket at the end of the month. Throughout March, all the French classes vote and then watch the videos of the winners. 

It is evident that this competition takes up time during the class, but it also gives different advantages to the students. 

“I am always looking for ways to incorporate more culture and language into my class. The competition gives students more exposure to where French is spoken. I have heard that my students all add these songs to their playlists.” O’Malley said. “Even their parents get involved. It gives more appreciation for different musicians and artists around the world. It is a great way to build community in the classroom and excitement around language.”

Without positive input from students, the competition would be less popular in the French classes. Phoenix Smith, sophomore, is taking French 3-4 this year.

“It is really fun to watch with friends and to listen to new good songs. I really enjoy seeing the difference between how they rhyme,” Smith said. 

As beneficial as the competition can be in class, the language programs are always looking for more ways to expose their students to their countries’ cultures, but cost plays a role in what can be accomplished. 

“It would be really awesome to be able to sponsor a musician to come and have performances for our class, like many other schools do,” O’Malley said.