Hundreds of people lined up at Amazura Night Club in Queens Saturday for a special Zumba class led by its founder, Beto Perez.

“It is a community, it’s family, it’s friends,” Natalie Palomino, a Queens resident, said.

This was the Colombia native’s first New York City gathering since the pandemic began.

Perez founded Zumba, a combination of cardio and Latin-inspired dance, in 2001

The brand is now in over 180 countries with over 200,000 locations.

Perez said it’s a testament to the impact of the Latino community.

“I try to take the culture and the music so people know how we are. We are not only housekeepers, but no we are nice people working hard. We want to be in the American dream,” he said.

Many of the attendees said the pandemic has had an enormous impact on their lives and being able to come back out with friends and family makes all the difference.

“I actually almost died from coronavirus,” Mila Stolz said.

Stolz, a 53-year-old, said she’s been doing Zumba for a year. She credits her full bounce back after COVID-19 to the fitness program.

“One day I couldn’t breathe, I thought that was it in my life but I have a second life. God helped me,” Stolz said.

“Look at now. I get to go out and meet all of them — so much fun,” she continued.

With a live drummer on hand and every kind of groove one could workout to playing over speakers, crowds in the packed venue were led to kick, punch, move waistlines and shout their way through workouts.

“It’s better than therapy, I stomp, I dance, I shake it, I move it and everyone is accepted,” Verladesh Gilles, a Zumba instructor, said. "Zumba is for everyone at every age."