Dancing for a cause at the waterfront

Published 7:29 pm Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Pulsing Latin music, sweating bodies, furious dancing; it’s not a scene from some underground dance club, but rather a glimpse of the Washington waterfront on Friday.

Beginning at 6 p.m. tomorrow evening, Greenville-based Y&Y Zumba will hold an hour-and-a-half long Zumbathon at the waterfront to raise money for a young man in need.

In December, 19-year-old Erick Antonio Lopez was diagnosed with cancer. He is currently hospitalized in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, battling leukemia. His father, Alvaro Lopez, lives in the Washington-Greenville area.

Recognizing the family’s need, Y&Y Zumba coach Yolanda De Jesus decided to hold an event for the purpose of helping her friend’s son.

“All the donations will be used to pay for his medicine,” De Jesus explained. “One dollar, 50 cents, anything will help.”

For those unfamiliar, Zumba is a style of Latin American exercise involving dancing, aerobics and energetic Latin music. Popularized in the late ’90s and throughout the 2000s, Zumba has caught on nationwide in the United States in recent years.

The Zumbathon is open to the public, and all are invited to join in the fun at the waterfront, dancing and sweating for a good cause.