What is Zumba?

Melita Garza, PhD, serves as assistant professor at Texas Christian University, where she focuses on the history of journalism. Outside of work, Dr. Melita Garza enjoys staying active through golf, yoga and walking. For the last decade, Zumba has also become a very popular method of exercise across America, and Melita Garza enjoys taking these group classes that don't feel like traditional workouts. Zumba is designed to feel more like a dance party than a traditional workout, which can make it easier to lose weight, stay active, and make friends.

Born in Columbia over 20 years ago, Zumba began when a fitness instructor forgot the CD for his aerobic class and popped in a personal mix of Latin music instead. Today, it has spread worldwide, with over six million people taking classes every week. Set to various styles of music, from salsa and cha-cha to soca and samba, the classes help to burn calories through a multitude of dance moves. It also supports muscle conditioning, flexibility and helps maintain energy.

While many people are familiar with traditional Zumba, there are also many varieties of the class, including some that incorporate weights, some for children, and even some that take place in the water. Classes are made for everyone, from beginners to experts, and even those who feel they don't have rhythm.

Los Angeles Conference Highlights Lack of a Unifying Latino Leader

 

A former Chicago Tribune reporter and writer, Melita Garza instructs on subjects such as media history and journalism as an assistant professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Melita Garza is a longstanding member and a former vice president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ).

NAHJ was recently in the news for helping organize a National Town Hall discussion in tandem with a variety of media organization leaders. Held in downtown Los Angeles, the two-day HISPANICIZE LA event focused on identifying new cultural and political leaders among the 55 million Latinos who make the United States their home.

Workshops featured a number of journalists, film producers, and social media mavens, with one well-attended event focusing on the question "Where Is the Latino Jesse Jackson When You Need Him?” The lack of such a unifying figure was reflected in a 2010 Pew Hispanic Research Center survey in which 74 percent of participants were unable to name a single Latino leader.

The conference revealed that, while some are for such a leader, others view the concept of a “Jesse Jackson model” as outdated and not reflective of the multi-faceted nature of the Latino community and the various experiences that inform it.