Connecting Latin Culture and Fitness

 

Photo credits (clockwise): NY Daily News,
Wallpaperswide.com, ElBoricua.com

I'm proud to be half Puerto Rican, and my Latin roots are a big part of who I am. I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I love that Zumba connects the Latin culture with health and fitness.

Reframing our culture as part of a healthy lifestyle is critical, because the facts about Hispanics and health are startling.

• Hispanics have a 21% higher obesity rate compared to Caucasians. (CDC)
• Hispanics have higher rates of type 2 diabetes and some cancers. (NIH)
• Hispanic immigrants can struggle to adapt to American diets, often moving into communities dominated by fast food. (HuffPo)
• Unfortunately, poverty and health are connected. Looking at 2012, 25% of Hispanics were living at the poverty level, in comparison to 11% of Caucasian people. (US HHS Office of Minority Health)

I love that Zumba uses the rhythms of Puerto Rico, Columbia, Mexico, and other Latin countries and cultures to empower people to have fun and be fit. I love that being involved with Zumba gives me an opportunity to connect with my culture without being around a tables of fried pastelillos and platanos! (Side note: I did recently make pasteles from scratch - a delicious dish made from root vegetables... read on for a few pics!)

I think it would be great if we all brought a bit of Latin culture into our Zumba classes. It could be as simple as noting where a song or style is from or giving your students a tip about where they can go for live, authentic Latin music.

Let's help reframe what it means to be Latina - our music can drive our healthy lifestyles and our culture can be part of our solution.

To help us get started, here is a list of common rhythms we use and where they come from. Wepa!

• Axe - Brazil
• Bomba y Plena - Puerto Rico
• Boogaloo - Based on Cuban rhythms, but developed in NY
• Cumbia - Columbia
• Mariachi - Mexico
• Mambo - Cuba
• Merengue - Dominican Republic
• Rumba - Cuba
• Salsa - Puerto Rico (with Cuban roots)
• Samba - Brazil (there's also Jazz Samba and Bossanova, slower versions of this genre born in the US)
• Soca - Trinidad originally, now popular throughout the Caribbean
• Tango - Argentina
• Tejano - Mexico (includes waltz and cumbia rhythms!)

P.S. Here are some pics of making homemade pasteles... it's a SIX HOUR process but I love that it uses fresh vegetables and spices to create a whole meal that's delicious, fresh, and (mostly) healthy!