The game started by dividing the 16 players into four tribes by gender and age: young men (Viveros, green buffs), older men (La Mina, orange buffs), young women (Bayoneta, blue buffs) and older women (Casaya, purple buffs). These four tribes were named after four islands in the Pearl Islands. During the second episode, the tribes were switched so that there would only be two tribes, Casaya, and La Mina. Bayoneta and Viveros no longer existed. The last 10 players left merged (combined) into one tribe, and called their new tribe "Gitanos" (black buffs), the Spanish word for "gypsy." One person from each of the four starting tribes were in the final four.