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Instructor Puts Fitness To Latin Rhythm

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 22, 2007

PLANT CITY - A barrage of Latin beats blasts through the stereo speakers and Patty Sanchez takes center stage, her body shimmying with what seems like a hundred dance moves.

For the next hour, Sanchez hardly pauses for breath. She bounces and boogies around so much her feet barely touch the floor.

'She's a dynamo,' said Debby Ragland, a fan, friend and student of Sanchez. 'It's fun to watch Patty.'

It is Sanchez's haven from the stress of the outside world. It is her bliss. It is her life.

It is Zumba - think Jazzercise spiced with Latin flavor. It's a high-energy aerobic workout program that fuses elements of salsa, merengue, rumba, cumbia, flamenco, calypso, reggae and hip-hop rhythms and moves.

It is exercise, but people do not realize the hard work they put into it, said Sanchez, who teaches a Zumba class from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Planteen Recreation Center, 301 N. Dort St.

The cost is $5 per class. For information, call Sanchez at (813) 516-4731 or Chris Washburn at the city's recreation and parks department at (813) 659-4256.

Ray Reyes

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