You may be wondering exactly where Zumba came from. You can actually guess that it somehow originated in Latin America, since the most common music used during sessions is Latin. However, the addition of other international influences and the name itself can lead to other meanings to some people. Knowing the background can help you appreciate it more.
Beto Perez
Alberto “Beto” Perez is a celebrity fitness trainer who accidentally discovered the concept of fusing a fitness program with Latin music and influence. In one ordinary day, he entered his fitness class realizing that he had left his regular aerobics music. The only choice then was to use the tapes available in his car. It just happened that all there were available were traditional tunes that originated from his native country in South America, Colombia. He was then led to use and improvise with merengue and Latin salsa. He realized that the new type of music could be phenomenal for fitness. This happened during the mid 1990s.
After that occasion, Beto decided to improve the routine and workout, thereby creating the dynamic and revolutionary fitness workout called Zumba. In just a short span of time, the Zumba class became the most popular at Beto’s facility. The creator brought the program to the United States in 1999. The entrepreneurs Alberto Aghion and Alberto Perlman also saw the big potential of the fitness program, so they approached Beto to focus on the global scale. Zumba classes were then offered all throughout the world when the three came upon an agreement.
Marketing Zumba
Perlman and Aghion continued marketing Zumba, landing a huge deal with a big infomercial company in 2002. The agreement was to launch the Zumba concept throughout America, leading to the creation and sale of several hundred thousands of Zumba videos in the US market. More Zumba instructors were in demand because of the large and quick response to the videos. Zumba then followed by creating a training program for potential instructors. Several thousands of individuals responded to the challenge and the product. There are more than 2,000 Zumba instructors all over the world.
Zumba also coordinated with Kellogg’s in 2003 to create and develop a fitness campaign, targeting the Hispanic market. Today, Kellogg’s has already spread the campaign to 5 more countries and is very consistent in renewing the relationship with Zumba on an annual basis. Zumba fitness program has been featured in several million boxes of Special K cereal all over the globe. In 2004, Zumba launched an infomercial campaign in the Spanish language to target Latin American and the US Hispanic market. It became a huge hit and led to the sale of several million DVDs in more than 30 nations.
Zumba Spreading
More Zumba instructors were being called for in 2005 all over America, which led to the creation of the Zumba Educational Division. It ensured quality and integrity over the industry standards. The Educational Division boasts of more than 50 years of combined experience in the industry under the leadership of Educational Director, Koh Herlong and Vice President, Petra Robinson. The two have helped a lot in the progress of the fitness industry standards for more than 25 years.
Currently, they are including Zumba in their wide expertise and experience. Zumba is now also aligned with the ACE, IDEA and AFAA.