Morenada

The most commonly shared theory says that the dance was inspired by the sufferings of the African slaves brought to Bolivia in order to work in the Silver Mines of Potosí. The enormous tongue of the dark masks is meant to represent the physical state of these mines workers and the rattling of the Matracas are frequently associated with the rattling of the slaves' chains. However, there is no evidence that these African slaves actually worked in the mines, although there is much evidence that they worked in the Casa de la Moneda (mint) in the production of coins and in domestic service.

Moreno in the locality of Ichu, Puno depicting what is believed to be Morenada dancers between the centuries 19th and 20th.

In the colonial era of the Viceroyalty of Peru, there is already a black population register in the Puno highlands, as documented in 1602 Ludovico Bertonio, an Italian Jesuit based in Juli, Puno. "To these blacks, the Andean population called them: Ch'ara or yanaruna.58 And to the pronounced geta they had, they said: Lakha llint'a. At the beginning of the 17th century, according to Gonzales Holguín and Bertonio, the Africans were I alluded to them interchangeably as blacks or brunettes.[10]

Another hypothesis comes from the Department of Puno in Peru, on the shores of Lake Titicaca (Puno). At the beginning of the 20th century, the presence of brunettes in devotion to the Virgen de la Candelaria is described in newspapers of the time:

• "Yesterday ... Three games of brunettes and numerous indigenous, have traveled the streets of the town" (El Eco de Puno, 1912)
• "From this morning they continue to travel the streets, the moorings, doing the usual home visits" (El Eco de Puno, 1916)
• “The most sumptuous presentation of brunettes is due in the calendar to the first days of February. It is an indigenous offering to the Virgin of the Candelaria, patron of Puno ”(El Pueblo, 1923)
• “The attendance of numerous“ morenos ”troupes gave the festival a tone of deep joy” (El Eco de Puno, 1932)

A second theory relates the Morenada to the Afro Bolivians living in the Yungas region and the stamping of grapes for wine production. According to this, the barrel-like Moreno-costumes would represent the barrel containing the wine. However, in the Yungas region there has never been any wine cultivation. At first sight this makes the theory seem extremely unprovable, but the texts sung in the Morenada contain hints as to wine cultivation for a long time. In addition, if one goes far enough back in history, one can discover that there were Afro-Bolivians working in vineyards - in other regions, such as Chuquisaca. Nowadays there might not be any Afro-Bolivians left where there are wineyards, but when the dance was created, there might have been.

Cave painting in the locality of Chirapaca, Los Andes Province (Bolivia) depicting what is believed to be Morenada dancers between the centuries 17th and 18th.

The third theory relates the Morenada to the Aymara Culture of the Lake Titicaca. Places such as Achacachi claim to be the place of origin of the "Fish Dance", as the Morenada in this region also is called. Some murals about 200–300 years old were found in the region, showing Morenada dancers and there still is a strong tradition of making elaborately embroidered Morenada costumes. The multicolored costumes of the Morenada are somewhat similar to the ones of Tinku dancers.