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June 26, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 27, 2004 They know the meaning of 'cantar' By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings Feeling the rhythm of the beat with a pair of maracas in hand, Simon Weibel and his best buddy, Alex Aleccia, had a blast recording their own unique version of the early rock-n-roll classic "La Bamba" at The Grove recording studio. Ashland High School students laugh after forgetting the words to "La Bamba" during a recording session Monday at The Grove. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland High School juniors were recording their songs for their Spanish class, along with fellow students from three different classes on Monday. After completing their tune in the third take, Weibel put his arms out in victory and gave Aleccia a high-five as if they just scored a touchdown, not surprising since both are football players at AHS. Each group made up their own lyrics in Spanish to go along with the tune to the song, made famous in the 1950s by Richie Valens and in the 1987 Lou Diamond Phillips movie. Students came up with unique lyrics about subjects such as driving a car, the joy of cooking Paella to being so hot and sexy the fire department needs to douse them with water. This memorable ditty was penned by the pair of Weibel and Aleccia. "A lot of my music expresses truth," Weibel said with a laugh. "It was nerve-wracking recording, but it was pretty fun." Junior Larkin Sackett enjoyed recording the Paella song with her group. "I've never done anything like this before," she said. "It was kind of scary, but it was really fun to do. It teaches you more about the culture and getting into the rhythm." In the near future, students may use their recordings to make music videos, perhaps at Rogue Valley Television. Being able to write and record music in Spanish is a great learning experience for students, teacher Dana Rensi said. "It's a great extension activity," she said. "They're basically writing poetry and putting it to music. They get so much memorizing the lyrics in Spanish. Music is a great environment for memorizing and learning another language." Oscar Lara, 19, couldn't agree more. An AHS senior exchange student from Mexico and a Spanish tutor, he enjoyed watching the class record their songs. He said listening to music was a way he learned English. His favorites were pop music and the Beatles, but no rap music. "You learn all the bad language with rap music," Lara said. The students were assisted during the recording sessions by Bob Di Chiro, studio director at The Grove. The studio is supported by the city and grants and donations from the Ashland Rotary Club. Besides working to improve their Spanish language skills, students learned about the intricacies of studio recording, Rensi said. The experience can assist those who are interested in a career in music, she said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams