October, also known as “Pinktober, “is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a month dedicated to education and awareness about breast cancer.
One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed as having breast cancer in her lifetime. For Jose Figueroa of Kissimmee, several of those women have been in his family.
“My grandma passed away from breast cancer when I was 15 years old,” he said. “All of my grandmother’s sisters passed away from breast cancer. And then I have some family members, like my aunt, has survived. She had a double mastectomy many, many years ago, but she survived.”
Figueroa, a Kissimmee Zumba instructor, is using his passion for Zumba to bring awareness to the disease and raise funds for the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk” by hosting a Zumbathon party on October 12. “It’s just this big old party of pink. It’s a whole pink situation,” he said, “This year, for the first time ever, I have an all-male instructor line-up. I’m excited about bringing a little bit of testosterone to Zumba because, unfortunately, for some reason or another, people feel like [Zumba] is more of a female’s thing. And it’s really not.”
The Zumbathon is an annual event for Figueroa, who held his first one in New York in 2012.
“I do it to not only honor my grandmother, but also celebrate the women in my life who have not gotten it. My mother doesn’t have it, my sister doesn’t have it, and my niece doesn’t have it.”
“I do the Zumbathon for many reasons,” Figueroa said. “To raise funds, to bring awareness, but also to give, especially survivors, at least one day and one moment where they realize that they’re important, and they haven’t been forgotten, and we care about them, and they mean something, and we’re here in the fight with them.”
The “Passionately Pink Party” Zumbathon will be held Saturday, October 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Dwelling Place Church, 4730 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee. The “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk” at Lake Eola will receive 75% of the proceeds. To purchase a ticket, go to www. pppzumbathon.square.site.
