This is the first of a series of stories the Crusader Chronicle will be writing about a few of the clubs present here at Faith titled Behind the Club. The club featured below is Spanish Soap Opera Club, a club that began in 2014 by the work of two students that now has more than forty members that routinely go to watch Spanish telenovas, or soap operas, each week.

Starting in 2014, Spanish Soap Opera club started out with humble beginnings, watching episodes after school with less than ten members at the start during Mr. Heupel’s first year at Faith. Four years later, the club, according to Mr. Heupel, “has more students than ever”,and has moved onto its third telenova. But how did this club start up, and how did it get so popular? Clara Heislen, a senior and founding member of the club, helped start the club with Katie Walo when the two were freshmen after watching an episode of the telenova Ruby (which Mr. Heupel calls, “the most popular telenova we have played”). Both Katie and Clara wanted to finish the episode after class, so Mr. Heupel invited them to come in after school to finish the episode.

“After that, we made it an after school thing to come in and watch, and we grew over time, and now we come in during school to watch with many more people”, said Heislen.

Mr. Heupel’s favorite part of the club is its ability to give students a chance to, “listen to Spanish, get some of the culture, and hear a lot of the language, while being able to laugh and yell and get excited”, said Heupel.

As for Clara, the main reason for her coming back time and time again to watch the telenovas is, “the humor in the Spanish soap operas”, while being able to learn about, “the cultural differences, and what they think is funny and different things they have compared to us”, said Heislen.

One of the main sources of humor for Spanish soap opera club was its first telenova played, (and best in the eyes of both Clara and Mr. Heupel) Ruby, one of the more popular Spanish telenovas of all time, which was watched in the club during its first two years of existence.

With telenovas like Ruby both educating and entertaining students who attend, Spanish Soap Opera Club has become one of Faith’s most popular clubs, and with its ever growing list of members, doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. If you are interested in joining the club, all you need to do is attend one of the meetings, and you will officially become a member.