The Spanish Language Village, known as El Lago del Bosque, had its very first session in the summer of 1963.  From that year to the late 1970's the location of the village changed, anywhere from the Norwegian Village to various rented Bible camps.  It ended up toward the end of that decade at YMCA Camp Cormorant in Lake Park, Minnesota, somewhere between Moorhead and Detroit Lakes.

In 1983 the Fargo/Moorhead YMCA decided to program their facility all summer so El Lago del Bosque was moved to Oak Hills Bible College South Camp.  That first summer we had seven weeks of programming and then in 1984 programmed the entire summer.

In the early 90's the enrollment for Spanish was gaining fast and we added a second facility for the first time at Dent.  We spent three summers at Dent in addition to Oak Hills and after that the additions of sessions and sites gets complicated.

In 2000 the first phase of construction for the permanent Spanish Village was completed and we enjoyed our first summer using La Plaza which holds three buildings, el comedor, one building of girl's houses and another building with two houses for boys and space for offices and other working space for staff.  The permanent site is located on the souther arm of Turtle River Lake outside of Bemidji, Minnesota.

In 2001 we added La Hacienda, just to the south of the Plaza.  There one finds four lovely houses, in a quaint South American style setting.  The Argentine staff also built an aljibe, a replica of a well typically found in haciendas all over South America.

In 2002, an amphitheater was built looking out over the water just west of the dining hall. El anfiteatro is a lovely place for canto and fogatas and to sit to watch the sun set.   Once again, the Argentine staff was busy building an asador, a huge BBQ grill which we use every Sunday for a typical asado.

In the spring of 2003, land was cleared just north of the comedor to begin construction of La Colina and on August 1 excavation began.  We will add 54 more villagers to the site next summer.  La Colina will have four houses in the style of México and Centroamérica with very brightly colored walls and a lovely view out over Turtle River Lake.  Just recently we received word that the Kresge challenge has been completed, thus having the funds necessary to begin construction on the Centro de Actividades this fall. The Centro de Actividades will have a large indoor space, an extensive Health Center, a credit classroom/library and additional housing for staff.

Some of our next projects include a basketball/tennis court and perhaps even a museum to feature art from the Spanish-speaking world as well as that of our own villagers.

Decana del Lago del Bosque

Con sus 28 años de dedicación a El Lago del Bosque y 10 años de ardua lucha para construir la aldea permanente, Diane "Diana" Tess es la actual decana de El Lago del Bosque - Bemidji.

Diana es profesora de español en Nicolet High School en Milwaukee. Ha viajado a diferentes países en Latinoamérica y vivió en España, donde amplió el uso de la lengua española, así como también su interés y compromiso con las culturas hispanas.

Diana es innovadora y contribuye permanentemente con la creación y desarrollo de nuevos programas y la currícula utilizada en la aldea. Orgullosa de su pequeño mundo hispano, nunca baja los brazos para hacer de El Lago del Bosque una experiencia inolvidable.

Diana representa una fuerte figura de apoyo continuo para aldeanos y consejeros, quienes encuentran en ella no solo a una decana sino también a una gran compañera y amiga.  Su filosofía coloca en el centro de El Lago del Bosque a los aldeanos para que disfruten al máximo de esta nueva forma de aprender español, compartiendo y experimentando costumbres y tradiciones de cada uno de los países de habla hispana.