The three drums are called caja, pujador and repicador. Each plays a different rhythm, and together they fit together like a puzzle. The deepest drum sets the beat, the middle one fills in, and the highest one decorates the rhythm with quick taps.
The female dancer often wears a beautiful long white dress called a 'pollera', with bright embroidered flowers and birds. A full pollera can take more than a year to make and might be passed from mother to daughter. The male dancer wears a 'montuno' shirt and a small straw hat.
Tamborito is a 'call and response' song. The lead singer calls out a line, and the whole circle answers back, often the same line or a chorus. That means everyone is part of the music - not just the people in the middle dancing.
Tamborito has been danced in Panama for hundreds of years. It probably grew out of the mixing of African, Indigenous and Spanish music traditions. Today, it is taught in many Panamanian schools so that children grow up knowing the steps.