Salsa Moves NZ director Alfonso Rios (36) became a New Zealand citizen at a ceremony officiated by Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull at the Skeggs Gallery.
"Every time I went back to Peru, it was a funny feeling to leave home to go home."
Mr Rios came to New Zealand from Lima, in Peru, in 2003 and teaches salsa dancing in a South Dunedin Dance Studio with his wife, Kate (23).
The Macandrew Bay residents were expecting another arrival in November - their first child, Mr Rios said.
The main difference between Dunedin and Lima was the weather, as seasons were more defined in Peru, he said.
Another big difference was the nine million people who called Lima home, he said.
Mr Rios and 36 others had big smiles after they swore allegiance at yesterday's ceremony, and were each handed a small native shrub, as some of the 80 in the crowd snapped pictures on their smartphones.
The other new citizens are: Lucy Margaret Atkinson, Jeremy Paul Whittam, Phoebe Catherine Whittam, Susan Brosnan, Peter Malcolm Day, Pamela Jane Day, William David Evans, Angela Elizabeth Howard, William Ewart Marriott, John Stuart McCormack, Keith William Pearce, Ruth Sarah Ann Pankhurst, Glen David Richardson, Timothy Henry George Smith, Natasha Smith, Darren John Smith, Jack Alexander Smith (Britain); Hilary Ann Radner Fox, Timothy Ruggles Mixter, Evelyn Byrd Tribble, Emelia Hillis Mixter (United States); Kai Liam Daniel, Michael Kruger (South Africa); Bernice Dawn Chapman (British South Africa); Alexandru Mihai Erdelyi (Romania); David Warren Everett (Australia); Eun Gyung Jun (Korea); Tiaoti Kairo (Kiribati); Mona Omer Badawi Khalifa (Sudan); Ade Rizki Kurniawan (Indonesia); Wenhua Lin (China); Josephine Manalansan MacLean (Philippines); Vera Sevastiyanova (Russia); Shima Sivakumar, Siva Kumar Nagappan Vimala (India).
