By Ferliza C. Contratista
CEBU CITY,
October 19 (PIA) --- The province of Cebu is currently the holder of the
Guinness World’s Largest Zumba Class.
As of yesterday,
Guinness World Record (GWR) adjudicator Provin Patel confirmed that Cebu
City was able to break India’s record in 2012 of 6,671 participants.
As of official counting,
there were 8, 232 who participated in the zumba class occupying the biggest
portion of the parking area of SM City.
Patel, in an interview,
said he was impressed with the discipline of the Cebuanos who were quick to
follow instructions and were light-spirited even while lining up.
Patel was also grateful
with the security of the area manned by the new trainees of the Regional
Training Center of Police Regional Office 7.
However, the province
was not able to beat India’s record as world’s largest human pink ribbon, an
awareness campaign for breast cancer.
Cebu fell short of 200
people, compared to India’s 6847 participants.
Nevertheless, Cebu City
Mayor Michael Rama said the event was a showcase of the Cebuanos' concern
for fitness and health.
“Dancing the zumba is a
fun way of becoming sexy, come to zumba as husband and wife and as family,”
Rama said.
The gates were
opened at 2 pm as participants from all walks of life started coming in.
Those who participated
were from the academe, church groups, municipal and city officials,
police and military members, and from other non-government organizations.
In the pink formation,
the participants were made to stand motionless for five minutes for the
official cameras and counters to complete their tasks.
In the zumba class
category, GWR requires a non-stop 30-minute dance of basic zumba which the
Cebuanos were more than eager to participate.
The event was led by the
certified Zumba Instructors Network (ZIN) in the Philippines.
It was done also in
cooperation with the local governments and the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Zumba is now a trend in
the Philippines which is an easier and fun way to lose weight. These are
combined dances from different countries started by Columbian Beto Perez.
(rmn/fcc/PIA7-Cebu)