Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the middle passage and the use of African slave labor during the country's colonial period.
The people dance in pairs to the drums and use improvisation to build relationships between the dancer and lead drummer.
It is usually played with guitars along with the main local instrument which is also called bomba which is a drum along with a guiro and sometimes bombos and bongos.
A variation of it is la banda mocha which are groups that play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leaves to give melody.
Recently it is enjoying some national exposure but outside the Chota Valley it is mostly popular in cities such as Quito and Ibarra which have important concentrations of afro-chotan people.