“I come to party,” says Patricia Matthews, decked out in a black Zumba T-shirt, chartreuse pants and turquoise-colored tennis shoes — along with her trademark sporty cap.
She also wears long dangling pink earrings and a couple of bracelets along with a Fitbit on her wrist that has already recorded that she’s burned 1,305 calories by early Sunday afternoon — and she’s just getting started.
She’s taking part in a sold-out session for Zumba instructors, taught by a Zumba jammer from Austria, that will stretch into the early evening.
“Zumba is very addicting, but it is addicting in a good way,” she says with a wide smile during a break from the choreographed steps to merengue and salsa tunes. “You dance with your friends for an hour.”
Devotees swear they can burn hundreds of calories.
Getting it all done
Matthews — who is married and the mother of teenagers — is always moving.
She teaches Zumba and other movement classes, including Tabata Boot Camp, every day of the week except Friday. Wednesday she teaches three classes in a row, which pushes that Fitbit up to nearly 3,000 calories.
Zumba is a class for all ages and abilities.
“I’m here to help them with an amazing workout,” she says, excited by the excitement she sees in her students when they master a move.
In addition to the Lighthouse/City YMCA and the Lohse Family YMCA downtown, she also teaches at the Tucson Jewish Community Center and to teachers at Davis Bilingual Magnet School, as well as a RIPPED class to employees at a private company.
She also hosts training sessions, such as the one Sunday, for instructors.
“In between all of this I am an extremely organized woman,” says Matthews, 42, who works as an accounting clerk and office administrator at Zonge International, which specializes in geophysical services.
Matthews also directs her passion for fitness to charitable causes such as the Zumba Fundraiser Party she’s organizing at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center on Saturday. Proceeds will benefit two Tucson families through the Melonhead Foundation.
Events that help people with cancer are especially close to her heart, she says, explaining that many of the women in her family have had some form of it. “This is the way I want to give back,” she says.
She’s organizing the Susan B. Komen Party in Pink in October, and participates in about one charitable event a month.
Zumba changed her life
Zumba helped Matthews feel at home in a new country.
Born in Copiapó, a community in northern Chile, she grew up enjoying dance classes and cheerleading.
She met her husband, Josh, when he was doing a geophysical survey in Chile, and knew no English when they moved to the United States.
She was at home with two young children when her husband encouraged her to join a nearby big-box gym. It was there she discovered Zumba, and felt at home with the music, movement and camaraderie. Her instructor encouraged her to get certified.
“Everything started from that point,” she said.
