Okay - I just joined Bally's again because it was $8 a month - great deal!
But I went to this new Zumba class- my oh my! Have you heard of this?
https://www.zumba.com/I had to pay an extra $2 to take the class but as I waited the older lady told me that I would LOVE it!
I had seen the site before I showed up and thought- latin/african/hip-hop dance workout, could be fun...
So, the teacher told me that I should just follow along and have fun-
As I danced to Shakira and Wyclef I looked around at the room full of aging white women getting their groove on. Hmmmm, why am I here I thought? I didn't let the creepiness stop me from having fun dancing, the instructor kept grinning and looking at me as she led us through cumbia, mambo, salsa, and meringue. But then I kept noticing that in most of the music I kept hearing Negra or some variant. I know, in Latin America calling someone Negra isn't supposed to be rude. But seeing these white women rotate their hips and slide to Spanish music about his Negrita- made me imagine them all in Black face trying to do a minstrel show. Of course the instructor with her absurdly huge grin and alternating jazz hands and hip pops didn't help! They all were trying to be Negras!?
There was a black guy that came in late and it looked like he needed to learn some dance moves - but he was having a ball.
I decided not to return to the class, except for one more to bring Zahyia along to laugh with me about it all-
I know- I always racialize everything! Whites are stealing Latin music for their workouts- after a year they'll be able to hit the latin clubs. I tried to say, hey this is nice - they're interested in other music and culture, how open minded of them. But I just kept seeing the big grins and side side hip pop, ride the horse and gallop, wave your hands in the air to the Caribbean beat- ahhh!!!!
Comments (1)
ah, you said the last paragraph shortly after i thought of it haha. i like the trend of other races/ethnicities embracing other ethnic cultures. be it a new afrocize class, or salsa'ing to the oldies lol (look out Richard Simmons), it's all good.
+ congrats on the membership. that IS very good. i'll have to tell some others about that fee.
(ocfernan)