Zumba madness sweeps Coachella Valley
“It changed my life,” Zumba zealot Viga Dean of Palm Springs states emphatically. “It resculpted my body. I went down a dress size.”
Dean took up the crazy-popular exercise just last June in Portland, Ore., where she summered. She does issue a slight disclaimer about her transformation: “Diet played a part.”
Anyway, the retired flight attendant attends classes almost every day at Palm Springs Fitness Center.
Zumba, as in rumba, started back in the 1990s in Colombia when exercise instructor Alberto “Beto” Perez forgot his tapes. He pulled some salsa and meringue cassettes out of his backpack and ay caramba — Beto’s lucky mishap went worldwide.
With a battle cry of “ditch the workout, join the party,” Zumba has become a success with all ages — from kids to their grandparents. It lends itself to all levels of exertion. Quite simply, you’re on your own; you do what you can do.
The Beaconchecked out Dean at class. She seemed to be having a great time, reaching, stretching, dancing around to a Latin beat. At the end of the hour she admitted to being tired, but was clearly exhilarated.
Another participant, Nilda Quinones-Duzich of Cathedral City, said she favors her arthritic knees. “I don’t do jumping.” She’s been into Zumba for two to three years, keeping it up when she visits her native Puerto Rico. “The steps are universal.”
Classes for beginners
Their teacher, Karen Mendez, also leads Zumba Gold sessions at Mizell Center, Palm Springs, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. The low-impact Gold classes are tailored for beginners and older people.
With a little smile Mendez says, “I trick people into moving. They love the class. They laugh with me — we have fun, we yell, we play games.”
Joslyn Center in Palm Desert schedules Zumba Gold at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday/Thursday, to accommodate working baby boomers on lunch breaks.
As activities director Daniel Coover delicately puts it, instructor Greg Klein “is patient and empathetic to those not physically gifted.” Attendees get addicted. “We call them Zumbots.”
Find a class near you at www.zumba.com.