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Alberto ‘Beto’ Pérez the man behind fitness sensation Zumba
With more and more people practicing Zumba to lose weight, Zumba creator Alberto “Beto” Pérez reminds people of the essence of his fitness regime: happiness
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With more and more people practicing Zumba to lose weight, Zumba creator Alberto “Beto” Pérez reminds people of the essence of his fitness regime: happiness.
Some 500 people grooved to the beats of Latin American music that resonated loudly during a Zumba class at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Their bodies were drenched in sweat, but their cheeks were flushed with joy and excitement, largely because their mentor was Alberto “Beto” Pérez, the man behind the wildly popular dance-fitness program Zumba.
Beto will turn 49 next year, but his stage performance showed that his physical agility still matches that of his younger assistants who danced on stage alongside him.
Beto, who was making his second visit to Indonesia earlier this month, this time for an event titled Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN) Academy, trained hundreds of Zumba instructors hailing from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Bangladesh.
The fitness regime has gained a massive following since 2001, thanks to its fun-filled dance moves, which take inspiration from hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue and mambo.
“Zumba is not just a fitness program. It has become a lifestyle,” said Beto.
Zumba is a trademark of Zumba Fitness LLC, a company that Beto founded in 2006. Its classes are taught in 200,000 locations in 180 countries, including Indonesia.
Zumba — which mixes low-intensity and high-intensity moves — is exercise in disguise because people do not realize that they burn 500 to 1,000 calories per sweat-soaked hour-long session.
For Beto, however, Zumba is not a weight-loss program. He said he created it to boost people’s mood and make them feel good.
“Weight loss is one of the many positive effects people will enjoy if they are happy,” he said.
This is the reason why Beto only plays music with catchy beats and uplifting lyrics in Zumba classes.
Born in Cali, Colombia, in 1970, he became enthusiastic about dancing when he watched John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John dance in the film Grease. He then liked to imitate the dance moves of Michael Jackson and groove along to Latin American music.
While studying at a dance academy, he made a living as a Latin aerobic teacher in a club. One day, he forgot the regular aerobic music he usually played for teaching at home. Nervous, he then took out a cassette from his backpack and played the salsa and merengue music he had recorded from a radio station. He combined dance with aerobics.
He was surprised to see that his students smiled and enjoyed his improvisation.
“I remember I said, ‘Wow, this is the thing I want to do for the rest of my life’,” he recalled.
Beto then named his creation Rumba, which means fiesta or party. In 1999, he moved to the United States to introduce his dance fitness program, however, he decided to change the name as many people misunderstood Rumba to be a rhythm.
“When I sat down with my business partners in a Starbucks coffee shop, one of them said Sumba. I said, ‘Hey, I love Sumba’. But, I would replace S with Z because when I was a kid, I liked to watch the TV series Zorro,” he said.
During his visit to Indonesia, Beto set the record straight that Zumba was suitable for both women and men. Many assume that Zumba is a women-only workout because women usually far outnumber men in Zumba classes.
Another misconception is that Zumba is hard to do. “It is easy, fun and effective,” he said. “Everybody can do it.”
His company, Zumba Fitness, has released a series of music albums titled Zumba Fitness Dance Party for Zumba classes worldwide.
Most of the songs on the albums are Latin songs, however, Beto opened the possibility of collaborating with musicians from Asia, including Indonesia, for the next album.
“We have worked together with famous artists like Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Pitbull, but we also need to know who the top artists from Indonesia are,” he said.
Beto said the songs on the Zumba playlist might vary in language, but they must be happy with catchy beats and uplifting lyrics because Zumba’s purpose was to make people who listen to the music smile, be in a good mood and then get up and dance.
— Photos by JP/A. Kurniawan Ulung
