Music like Saya

The Saya is a music and dance that originated in the Yungas Region of Bolivia. The art form's name comes from the Kikongo term nsaya, which means communal work led by a singing voice, akin to a work song. The Saya's instrumentation and dance also reflects the influence of traditional Andean (Bolivian) music.

Enslaved Africans were taken to South America to work in a range of industries. Their customs, music, was merged with the native cultures gave rise to mixtures. The specific history of many of these practices has disappeared, but many authors have worked to identify cultural survivals in Afro-descended groups throughout South America.

Many dances have been derived from the Saya. Caporales was based on these dances, created and presented to the public for the first time in 1969 by the Estrada brothers who were inspired in the Afro-Bolivian Saya character of the Caporal . This character was, in turn, inspired by the foreman on the haciendas of the Yungas.