Wednesday, April 11, 2012

  Youngest Zumba Instructor: Catalina Mejia sets world record (Video)

Gaithersburg, MD, USA--Catalina Mejia, 15, works as a Zumba instructor at Studio X in Gaithersburg; she has been certified to teach the aerobic fitness program for four years (at 11 years 4 months and 12 days) - setting the new world record for the Youngest Zumba Instructor , according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/.

  Photo: Catalina Mejia, The World's Youngest Zumba Instructor.

The Guinness world record for the largest Zumba® class involved 2,012 participants and was achieved by Zumbawear UK (UK) at Marble Hill, Twickenham, UK.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the greatest number of people participating in circuit training at a single venue: 317, achieved by We Promote Health, Inc. (USA) in Ellicott City, Maryland, USA . The workout stations consisted of Zumba, Legs & Lower Body, Running, Core, Plyometrics and Arms.

  Her mom Patricia Arenas was the one who introduced her to Zumba. Arenas had taken a class at work and, knowing how much her 10-year-old loved to dance, brought her along to instructor Azuka Boutcher's gym in Alexandria.

  Catalina was hooked on going to classes and soon asked Boutcher how she could become a Zumba instructor. The answer was simple: Go to the next certification.

  She spent the next few months dedicated to her dancing, and then one morning in December, her mom dropped her off at Zumba instructor training.

  The course involved going over the four foundational rhythms (merengue, salsa, cumbia and reggaeton), practicing how to string steps together and learning how to structure a class.

Photo: Catalina Mejia, the world's youngest Zumba instructor, in action during class in Gaithersburg, MD. ( enlarge photo )

  When her mom picked her up nine hours later, though they didn't know it yet, Catalina was a world-record holder.

  She started a Zumba club at school.

  Even though she could keep going and going, Catalina limits her teaching to weekends. Her classes at Wootton High School in Rockville come first, she says. By that, she means the ones in which she's a student, although she has led Zumba classes for faculty and students before.

  Part of her passion is fueled by her admiration of Beto Perez, the Colombian who created Zumba. "He's my idol. I look up to him so much," she says.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012 4:27 PM