Zumba for a cure

Hundreds of health-conscious people took the opportunity Saturday to gather on the Kofa High School football field to participate in a Zumba workshop to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

  “Zumba is a Latin inspired fitness program that incorporates international music, and is easy for just about everyone to do,” said Amanda Butz, owner of Healthy Butz gym.

  “It is a party atmosphere, and people accidentally end up working out. A lot of people, especially at-home-moms, have said Zumba is a great stress reliever and without it they would have nothing to be excited about.

  “This is a relatively new fitness program that was accidentally invented by a Colombian fitness instructor. I would suggest people not try it because they will get addicted to it.”

  Beto Perez, founder of Zumba, stumbled on the concept of Latin inspired fitness in Columbia in the 1990s. He was leading a class when he realized he had forgotten his aerobics music, and decided last minute to use the personal tapes he listened to in his car.

  The tapes were filled with Latin salsa and meringue music and he improvised his class that day to use the music. Since the results far exceeded his expectations, he decided to keep the new system and named it Zumba.

  The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt the body.

  “We have a KYMA Relay for Life team and we are trying to raise money for the American Cancer Society,” said Michelle Velez, KYMA anchor.

  “This year we were trying to come up with something fun and creative and we thought since Zumba has gotten really big and I was an instructor, why not do a giant Zumba class?

  “We want to pump people up to donate and we thought this would be fun and silly and they could exercise, too. People do this once and they love it, and we wanted to introduce it to new people to get them hooked on it.”

  Velez says people don’t recognize they are doing something healthy because Zumba is so fun.

  “This is a high intensity level exercise, but everyone is dancing, screaming and having a good time without realizing they are actually getting a workout. You actually burn 1,000 calories in one hour.”

  Velez says she wanted the event to draw attention to the American Cancer Society.

  “All of the funding we raise goes to cancer research to help find a cure. This is not about the money but what the money does.

  “I feel that being in the position I am in where I reach a lot of people, I have the perfect opportunity to express my feelings for this cause. Cancer is wide spread, and it affects so many people. I want people to know cancer is a monster and a killer.”

  Velez says the Zumba class was a perfect way to garner attention for the cancer society.

  “You have all these smiling faces out here having a blast, and at the same time we are raising money for the cause. For me, that’s mission accomplished, we did it!”

  Velez says the Relay for Life event will be held in May.

  For more information log onto www.relayforlife.org/yumaaz.