[1] The jawbone is cleaned of tissue and dried to make the teeth loose and act as a rattle.

It is used in music in most of Latin America, including Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Cuba.

[4] It is a mix of African and indigenous cultures that created an instrument that gained value from the people of Latin America.

It is one of the main instruments used by Afro-Peruvian musical ensembles and is used in many other Latin American cultures, like the candombe of Argentina (in Uruguay it is not used), Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, as well as Belizean brukdown, Mexican music by son jarocho, and "Costa Chica" ensembles.

[5] In popular culture the use of a quijada was shown in a conga dance scene in a 1939 film ("Midnight" starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche) beginning at 54:35.