these revelers are also called clovis, a word possibly derived from the word 'clown.', due to the costumes they originally wore, very similar to the costumes wore by arlecchino, a multicolored character of italian folklore - a character based on a medieval german rural demon.

clovis also based their costumes on pierrot, another italian folk character that became famous in france in the eighteenth century, and extremely popular during carnival.  

over time, the types of costumes used by the bate-bolas changed and evolved, growing to represent different themes year after year.