Zumba is life with Destiny

‼️🚨AMAZING FREE COMMUNITY EVENT🚨‼️

Hello friends, I will be leading a FREE 30 minute Zumba class next Wednesday on July 15 at 2020 N. Leamington Ave at 3:30pm!

I have collaborated with the Hermosa Belmont Cragin Chamber of Commerce to bring you an energetic and fun Zumba class that will leave you feeling refreshed, inspired and full of joy!

Not only will there be Zumba, but if you look at the flyer, there will be FREE food, lots of games & activities for the family (including a mechanical bull)!

I want to thank Marlene for connecting me with this opportunity to collaborate with the Hermosa Belmont Cragin Chamber of Commerce! They have worked very hard to bring you all this amazing event next week! I hope you can make it! Mark your calendars, and if you come take my class, please come say hello! 💃🥰🔥🙏🏾

Hi friends! Vacation mode is over, and I am back in town for lots of Zumba all of July! We have over 20 classes available for you to join this month, including a couple of FREE Zumba Gold sessions!

Comment below which classes you plan on joining , and I hope you’re excited to dance with me!

On June 24, 2026, we laid my husband’s father, Oscar, to rest. No words can describe how unexpected and painful this has been for our family. I want to say thank you to all of you who have been so supportive to us, especially our Lola. She is our OG Zumba-star.

The funeral service was absolutely beautiful. Hundreds of people from all walks of life of Oscar came to give their respects & condolences to the family. Beautiful, heart-felt speeches were made from Alina & Jhené, his precious grand babies. My husband shared a honest & storytelling speech, and I am so proud of him for sharing it in the midst of his own grief. Our cousin, Jose, who was a son to Oscar, also shared a heart-felt speech that vividly painted Oscar as the hero he was. “GG” who has known him for over 20 years, made everyone laugh in remembrance of Oscar’s ways. I also shared a speech highlighting how much he loved his immediate family, especially his grandbabies. Even Nolan, bravely stood up and shared how much Oscar would be missed. He greatly impacted ALL generations.

I wanted to make this post to say thank you to all of our Zumba community who showed support in our hardest times. There has been an outpour of prayers, generous donations, and intentional messages from lots of you. We are so grateful beyond what words can say. Many of you showed up at the funeral & provided comfort to Lola and myself. Every single one of you that showed up really helped us stay strong and feel supported in your own unique way. I know Lola felt all the love when she seen you all there. Your presence was very impactful. I , personally, was able to lean on all of you when I needed help with my outfit, bathroom breaks, moments to watch my daughter, and with words of encouragement. It was such a busy, emotional day, and you guys were my rocks that day. You all gave me the strength to keep being a rock to my loved ones. I had no idea I would need to see your faces, feel your love & support that day specifically. Memories like this are forever engraved in our hearts.

Oscar, we all call him grandpa, loved everything I was doing with our Zumba community. He would always be impressed with how many of you all would show up on a given day, even in the rain, snow or heat-wave. He would always say “ You’re doing something right.” I would share my crazy ideas with him, and he would always support it. I hoped one day he would join a class or see me in action. Im glad he got to see that I collaborated with Zumba twice, even though a 30 second interview wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to see the rest 😂. He even got to witness his wife’s health dramatically increase for the better through Zumba in the last 3 years. He witnessed her flourish & seen her fighting for her health. I wish I could of helped him too. It was all in the works. You never know when it’s your time, so please stop putting things off.

I cannot believe I pushed through a couple weeks of classes in the midst of all of this. My husband requested I still have classes, so things can feel normal. He said “Grandpa would not want you missing Zumba because of him. Go help others with their heart health, in his name.” So that’s what I did, some days were harder than others, but God gave me every ounce of strength I needed to be a light in your lives. It felt good to push through & do what I do best.

I absolutely love every single one of you. I am so grateful for every single one of you. This will make me a better person, instructor, mentor, and friend.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I love to write, and this is important to me: expressing my gratitude to all of you. I feel like this is way more than I deserve, so I will do my very best to be the best version of myself to help you all in whatever ways I can.

Sincerely,

Destiny Matias

I am stepping away for a week for a much owed vacation with my family. As I told my dancers, stay active, go for walks, and you could even join another Zumba class! There are plenty of amazing instructors out here. I am looking forward to the break for my normal day to day routine. Thank you for your patience 💕

Classes available when I come back:

Wednesday, July 8 at 1pm
Thursday, July 9 at 5:00pm
Friday, July 10 at 7pm
Saturday, July 11 at 9am
Monday, July 13 at 5:30pm

We had an amazing, sweaty class this evening! Thank you all for wishing me and my family safe travels!

‼️Classes are out of session between July 1-July 6! Classes resume Wednesday, July 8 at 1pm. ‼️

Thank you for your patience, and I will see you all next week.

I almost canceled my Zumba Gold class today because of the funeral, but my husband urged me to go, saying it would 'help the elders' heart health.' And he was right. There was so much joy in the room that I found myself holding back tears. It felt like a blessing when a man, who reminded me so much of my father-in-law, joined the class. He was smiling and moving so gracefully. It made me think of him and how much he loved seeing what I did for people. He never got to join a class himself, but today, I felt his presence through everyone there. Thank you, God, for this sense of purpose.

I don’t know how to say this, and I wish I didn’t have to make this post, but honestly I know how much you all love and support our community and the members inside of it. We need your prayers, love and support in every form.

My father-in- law, the life of the party, passed away, unexpectedly, in his sleep yesterday. My mother-in-law, you all know her as Lola, is heart-broken and lost. My husband, who y’all know as Mr. Zumba, lost his dad. It’s painful. We all are hurting beyond what words can say. He left behind his children, grandchildren, and so many people who absolutely adored him.

Lola wanted me to reach out to the community & let you all know how you can help our family through this tragedy. Whether it’s prayers, donations, or your love, it’s very much appreciated over here.

I don’t know what else to say. It’s not like grandpa will read this, but he was my dad too. I will never forget when he called me “mija”. I will never forget his jokes, and the way he loved my daughter something fierce. He loved what I was doing with Zumba, and he loved hearing how many of you all showed up to class. “ You’re doing something right.” He would say. He healed something in me. I love you so much, grandpa.

Thank you for your support.

Donate to Honoring Oscar Matias: Funeral & Memorial, organized by Erika Teijeiro-Ficht It is with broken hearts that we share the unexpected passing of our be… Erika Teijeiro-Ficht needs your support for Honoring Oscar Matias: Funeral & Memorial

I am enjoying feeling myself get stronger everyday. Strength-training routines that were once hard feel easier. My endurance for cardio is higher. My waist is losing inches! I am absolutely in love with adding resistance training to my workout regimen. 🔥