March Madness takes a new meaning in the Spanish and French classes in the form of Locura de Marzo and Manie Musicale de Mars.
These activities differ from the traditional American basketball competition, as 16 songs will compete instead.
“It’s really engaging,” Ivy Wang, sophomore, said. “It’s a good way to dabble in the music of other countries.”
Wang is currently enrolled in Spanish 3 and said the Locura de Marzo activity is beneficial to students currently learning foreign languages.
“Music is a really important part of cultural identity in general,” Wang said. “It’s a good introduction to the whole culture and the ideas coming from all these other Spanish-speaking places.”
The idea for this activity was created by Señor Ashby in Michigan. While it is not a cultural event celebrated in Latin America, this activity has participants from all across the U.S. voting on their favorite songs from Latin American artists.
“Usually you would not get exposure to other country’s music,” Wang said. “Usually you would stay within the niche of American pop, and this is a really good way to start looking at the music scene in other countries.”
Monica Bremer, Spanish teacher, mentioned that in past years only a handful of classes participated in this activity, but this year the entire Spanish and French department decided to celebrate Locura de Marzo or Manie Musicale in their classes.
“It is an opportunity for us to share music with the students, get them interested in listening to Hispanic music, and get to know different artists,” Bremer said.
After the final round of competitions, Bremer intends to host a hallway celebration with the winning song as a finale for the cultural experience.
“It is ultimately a cultural experience. You get motivated and interested in music other than that you normally listen to,” Bremer said.
While the Spanish classes are going through the songs slower than the online competition, the French teachers have decided to participate with the online timeline so they can vote with the rest of the nation.
Della Thompson, French teacher, finds the activity to be a good way to get students to learn new vocabulary and how to voice their opinions while experiencing a new culture.
“It’s always fun because kids really like music,” Thompson said. “They get into the songs. They get very upset when their favorite song doesn’t win or they get very excited when it does.”
