Caporales were created and presented to the public for the first time in 1969 by the Estrada Pacheco brothers, who were inspired in the character of the 'Caporal' who is the overseer of the black slaves and was usually mixed race, wore boots and held a whip, a dance that belongs to the region of the Yungas, Bolivia.

Caporal or caporales today is a folklore dance very popular in the festivities of not only Bolivia, but also Argentina, Chile, Peru, Spain and the United States.

In June 2011, through a Supreme Decree, Caporales along with other dances were declared Cultural and Intangible Heritage of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; according to the government entity, this measure was taken to curb the attempts of appropriation by neighboring countries.

Wearing heeled boots bearing large bells known as "cascabeles", a male dancer carries a hat in his left hand and a whip in his right (sometimes).

A female caporal dress consists of a minidress (representing a peasant woman) with matching panties (representing a newborn infant), skin-color pantyhose, fancy high-heeled shoes and a round top hat (resembling a traditional Bolivian bowler hat) pinned to her hair.