A trip to Perez Zeledon’s “Energy Waterfall”

(Photo: Bryan Herrera / InsideCostaRica.com)

By Perez Zeledon Community Reporter, Carol Vaughn
September 26th, 2014

How does one stay in shape after the age of fifty-five in Perez Zeledon?  We do low-impact aerobics with “Cascada de Energia”, twice a week, at Hospital Escalante Pradilla’s outdoor rancho gymnasium.  And there are 75 of us!

The breeze blows gently, the zopilotes (buzzards) circle lazily above, and the folks of Cascada de Energia begin to arrive for their 8AM, Mon/Wed workout with Delma Cerdas Quiros, our 61-year old aerobics  guru who makes Jane Fonda look like stale white bread.

We begin standing in a circle, with a prayer read by one of the ladies.  We thank God we are still alive, healthy, and able to shake our booties at this age.  Someone usually steps forward to mention a fellow exerciser who is having health problems, or lost her husband, or whose house burned down.  It is a sweet and centering moment.

Then the music begins to incite us to move.  The Cascada folks move to popular music including Cumbia, Merengue, Paso Doble, and Bachata.  The class began 14-years ago as a project of Costa Rica’s socialized medicine program, CAJA, who underwrote it for two years before abandoning it to dance on independently under the watchful gaze of the founding member, Mireya Carvajal Oviedo, 74-years young.  Mireya usually works out at the back of the group – an elegant, trim, gorgeous lady who inspires everyone to keep working out to one day look just like her.  She originated the name of the group after winning a contest to name us Cascada de Energia.

The age range of the group is 55-83: four men, 70 women, and one Gringa. Members proclaim the benefits of this program, including mental and physical health, a sense of well-being and calmness, and the camaraderie of these folks who all know each other well and seem to care for each other tremendously.

After a mini warm-up of shoulder rolls, arm extensions, lunges, and gentle marching or step touching, we get jiggy with the music and cut loose with walking patterns and some hopping and jumping maneuvers.  Mireya moves around the circle inspiring each of us, adding some sexy hip moves or upper body shimmies, and generally tries to keep the energy up and people moving to their maximum.

The cost of this twice-a-week extravaganza is – wait for it – c2,000 ($4.00) a month.  And for that you get great music, a hot instructor, fresh air, and the nicest fellow aerobics partners you’ve ever met.  The only downside is this Tico tradition of putting everyone in uniforms, which in this case, are golf course green polyester shirts and pants with the Cascada de Energia emblem over the heart.  They are optional…

For information on Cascada de Energia classes, please call Ms. Delma Cerdas Quiros at 2771-5027.