Those of you who are tired of hearing me bitch about (yet another) crappy Zumba class may be relieved to learn that I’ve finally found a great online program.
It’s on YouTube. The teacher, Cesar Molina, is everything that Casta Melendez and Gustavo Gutierrez-Bernal have inspired me to seek out.
Like Casta and Gustavo, Cesar has a deep, strong, background in dance. He moves with grace, playfulness and joy. Yes, it’s exercise — but that’s not the point of Zumba. At least it shouldn’t be.
I’ve so had it with the faux-Zumba instructors exhorting me to grind the cartilage out of my knees with hip-hop moves. And I’ve really had it with aerobics instructors who get Zumba certification and then proceed to bore me to death with their peppy grins, corny exhortations, bouncy 1980s dance moves, and playlists of inane pop hits. And I am exasperated with the local gyms who hire these people.
If you’ve been burned by bad Zumba, take a restorative look at Cesar’s videos. At least half of the songs he uses are romantic bachata or lighter Latin — for instance, Plakito. As you dance, you work on balance, strength, muscle control and flexibility. It’s not about flailing frantically in an effort to burn calories.
I wish I could travel to Chile to study with Cesar, but for the moment I’m perfectly happy to work out to his YouTube videos.
Fitness, Food and Fashion 
Thanks for the recommendation! Cesar’s videos look like a lot of fun.