Zumba® friends!!

This week is a week off school, but it also happens to by my “harvest time” at work. We’ve called it “20 days of hel— awesome” since we’re working 20 days in a row, and both weekends (including today) include 12 hour days. It’s fun, it’s hard, but it’ll all be done next Monday.

So, we’ll start a new session with some new (and some old!) tunes. The videos below may show a few new songs…. stay tuned!

History of Cumbia

As I discussed in class last week, the Cumbia step originated in Colombia, and, in particular, the Caribbean coastal region. Cumbia is the result of two cultures (the Amerindians and African slaves who settled in Northern Colombia) merging their musical and dance styles. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the slave population that was later mixed with the European instruments and influence.
(sources: http://www.dancing-latin.com/cumbia-dance.php, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbia)

Here’s a further breakdown of some Cumbia steps used often in Zumba® Fitness!

Zuco 103 – Na Mangueira

Here’s the video of the song that I use for the “conga line” or the dreaded “arms only” tracks.