Eunice Sun considered herself to be a girl luckier than most. After all, she didn't have to go to school, like other kids her age. She was traveling around the world on a sailboat with her parents. At 9 years old, Eunice had already seen and experienced many rare and special things that most people never would.
She had seen a cherry-red, lop-sided moon, big as a mountain, rise inch by inch up out of the ocean, late in the still night.
She had seen a pod of dolphins, hundreds of dolphins, leap and splash and flip and twirl and dive and race all around her boat for a whole afternoon. She had snorkeled with a sea turtle and watched a water spout pick up a piece of the ocean in the shape of a tube and bring it up to touch a cloud.
Eunice was a lucky girl alright, but sometimes she felt lonely, too. She knew that most kids her age spent time doing things with other kids. But there were no other kids on Eunice's boat, just her parents. The Suns were a close family. Eunice enjoyed doing lessons with her mom every morning and fishing with her dad after lunch. But Eunice still longed to have a friend her own age to play with and tell secrets to.
One day the Suns sailed their boat, Luna, into the Mexican harbor of Guaymas, in the state of Sonora, Mexico. From the anchorage, Guaymas looked like many of the other harbors they had been to. It had an industrial center where large freight ships would dock to load or unload stores of grain or rice.
It had another dock for the local fishing fleet of pangas. Here, there was always a flurry of activity going on: fish boats whooshing by day and night, activities on the malecon, music wafting from the central plaza.
The old church and the shops could be seen resting at the bottom of the mountains, with box-like houses of the neighborhoods spreading out from there, climbing up the hills.
One day, Eunice's parents announced to her that the family would be staying in Guaymas for a while, at least through the hurricane season. They needed a safe harbor in which to shelter during the months of unstable, dangerous weather. This made Eunice start feeling lonely again. What would she do for months in a port? And who would she find to play with?
Then one day something extraordinary happened.
It began as an ordinary Monday. The Suns had spent the hottest part of the day working on projects and relaxing below decks where it was cool. As the sun began to descend, the breeze picked up, beckoning them outside. Sliding open the hatch, Eunice heard lively music rising from the central plaza. There was an excitement in the beat, playfulness in the melody. Eunice looked at her Mom and Dad. Mr. Sun smiled and gave her a wink. "Let's go", said Mom. The three of them headed off toward the plaza in the direction of the music.
When the Suns got to the plaza, they saw a curious sight. The plaza was filled with people of all ages. The people were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in rows, moving together to the music. They were following the movements of a man and a woman dancing on a roughly made stage. Everyone was moving in time together. Everyone was smiling the same broad smile.
Eunice watched with wide eyes. Wow! What was this group dance all about? It looked like great fun! The music was completely alive and inviting. Then suddenly her face fell. She felt herself to be outside of all this excitement. She was just a stranger watching. She wasn't part of this fantastic thing, but she longed to be.
Then a movement caught her attention. A girl, around Eunice's age, with long black hair and big brown eyes, broke off from the row she was dancing in. She walked right up to Eunice with a smile.
"Quieres Zumba?" said the girl.
"What?" said Eunice.
The girl smiled again. "Zumba", she repeated. "Es un baile. Quieres Zumba conmigo?"
Eunice had been practicing Spanish for months. Now she searched her memory and realized that the girl was telling her Zumba was some kind of a dance. It was probably a way in which people exercised and had fun at the same time. Eunice looked up at her parents, but their smiles told her all she needed to know.
"Si, si!" said Eunice. "Yo quiero Zumba contigo. Mi nombre es Eunice."
"Hola, Eunice. Mi nombre es Angelica. Vamonos!"
The two girls disappeared into the crowd of dancing people, giggling as they went. They danced until the night cooled and the music stopped. The two met every day after that, just as the sun was sinking behind the hills and the music filled the air. They were Zumba Friends. Now and forever.
