I was born in Colombia. Moved to USA in 2009. I lived in Minnesota, Michigan, Alberta (Canada) and moved to Florida in 2015. I am the 7th of 8 brothers and sisters and a happy mom of a beautiful daughter. Dancing has been my passion and I have done it since I remember. I became a Zumba® Instructor in 2011 and since then I have spread my passion for Zumba® everywhere I go. Zumba® changed my life and I am grateful for that. In 2014 I was given the opportunity to work as a Zumba® Jammer for Salsa. I had the honor to be part of the team lead by Shemane Nugent, co-producer of Zumba® in the circuit, at the Zumba® instructors Convention in Orlando, 2014 and 2015, promoting a new Zumba in the Circuit format. It is amazing how much you can learn by interacting with people from different cultures. I love traveling but also in my classes I have the privilege of having people from all over the world and that is one of my favorite parts of teaching Zumba®, to have the opportunity to make people feel back to their countries when I play their own music. Zumba® has become a multicultural program making the world a smaller place. Check the Shop and get extra 10% discount on Zumba wear by using my code MARIAZ and look like a Zumba pro in your classes. Now I have a Book The Game of Life, El Juego de la Vida, Le Jeu de la Vie at Amazon.com