Upbeat Latin dance tunes inspire people to "move fast and have fun," the meaning of the word "Zumba." Colombian choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez brought his Zumba exercise creation to Miami in 1999. It quickly entered the mainstream fitness world, boosted by the popularity of Latin dance on TV shows like "Dancing with the Stars."
How Zumba Began
Perez has choreographed the moves of Shakira and other dancing stars. He led exercise classes in his home city of Cali, Colombia in the 1990s. One day he forgot his music CDs for aerobics class, so he grabbed some Latin tunes from his car and improvised a workout. The students loved it, and kept asking for more.
How It Became Popular
Zumba's wildfire ignited when Perez teamed up with Miami entrepreneurs Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion to reach the fitness-minded Hispanic market. Working with Kellogg's in 2003, Zumba was featured in several countries on over 1.5 million boxes of Special K cereal. A Spanish-language infomercial published in 2004 boosted sales of the Zumba DVD to 2.5 million.
Zumba Grows and Grows
Zumba is aligned with the American Council on Exercise and other fitness education organizations, providing classes for every age and fitness level. Zumba Gold, Zumba Kids, Aquatic, Hip Hop and Belly Dance Zumba are recent offshoots, according to fitnesszumba.com. The third and most recent Zumba video sets Perez's workouts to varied musical styles such as rock and roll, country and funk.
Zumba for a Cause
Zumba Fitness shares its success through annual "Zumbathons" to raise funds for selected foundations. Miami's first Zumbathon in 2006 drew nearly a thousand participants, with proceeds given to the breast cancer survivors' Quality of Life Fund.
Zumba Party Spans the Globe
Perez's spontaneous creation has become the world's most popular dance-fitness program. Ten million people of all ages and fitness levels now "move fast and have fun," according to zumba.com. The Zumba Master Training Team, directed by Perez, keeps the fitness party going in thousands of locations around the world.
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