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Blanca Tarazona, right, the pronouncer for the first-ever Spanish spelling bee at Mesa Middle School, congratulates sixth-grader Samantha Barrera, 12, for winning first place with her correct spelling of edredón or comforter. Earlier, Johnny Ray Montenegro, a sixth-grader, won the school's first-ever English spelling bee. The two now advance to the district-level English and Spanish bees next month. Mesa, which opened this academic year, is the newest school in the Las Cruces district.



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