Monte Mart Market Feeds Local Zumba Craze

If you drive along Avenue 50, past the railroad tracks on Monte Vista, around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. Monday through Friday you will likely see a line of about a dozen or more people—mostly women—waiting patiently on the south side of the street to enter Monte Mart Market, a prominent grocery store located a stone's throw east of the rail tracks.

If you've been puzzled by this sight and wanted to know more, read on—or go straight to the attached video for an even more satisfying answer. The people in the line are waiting to do Zumba at the mini market—and the reason they're on the street is that a previous Zumba class is underway inside.

Such is the popularity of Zumba in and around much of Highland Park that the Monte Mart Market, located at 248 N. Ave. 50, holds four hour-long classes daily, Monday through Saturday—at 8:30 a.m, 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. The cost? Just $3 per class per person. Some 20 to 30 people attend each class on average, according to store owner Gaby Morales.

That's not all. Every now and then the store organizes special "marathon" Zumba events from 6 p.m to 9 p.m. These are "master classes," says Morales, featuring eight instructors and priced moderately at $12 a class (prepaid) and $15 at the door. The next master class is this coming Saturday, June 8.

Highland Park has nine locations where Zumba classes are held, according to Zumba.com. (Plug in the 90042 zip code for details.) The stores are part of a so-called Zumba Instructors' Network (ZIN), which means the workouts are led by certified instructors. Store owners pay $30 to join the network, according to Daniel Morales, who is part of the Monte Mart Market family business.

Some stores, however, are not in the network, which means they teach Zumba on the sly, says Daniel. Beware!