- “Os Quindins de Yayá.”
- ―Yaya[src]
Yaya is a live-action character, who sings, dances, and sells cookies in the 1945 Disney film The Three Caballeros.
Background[]
Biography[]
Yaya is a Baiana, which is how Brazilians call women that work making and selling traditional African and Afro-Brazilian food on the streets in the state of Bahia.
Personality[]
Yaya is a happy, sweet, and fun-loving woman, who seems to love working as a Baiana, as she enjoys singing and dancing while selling food. She is also friendly and shows to be flirtatious, not being shy when the men are flirting with her. She is shown to love flowers and becomes very happy to receive them from Donald, so she thanks him and gives him a kiss.
Appearances[]
The Three Caballeros[]
Donald Duck and José Carioca hop inside a book and take a train to Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia (spelled "Baía" in the film). When they get there, they hear someone singing to which José says it's Yaya, a beautiful Baiana who sells cookies. Sure enough, Yaya appears with a tray of quindins, which is a Brazilian baked dessert made of sugar, egg, and ground coconut. She starts singing the song "Os Quindins de Yayá" (Yaya's Quindins). Donald falls in love with her and repeatedly tries to get a kiss from her, but is interrupted by a bunch of men who also flirt with Yaya.
Eventually, a group of other women appear and the men (as well as José) leave Yaya behind, much to her disappointment. Donald then walks up and hands her a bouquet of flowers, which cheers her up and she gives Donald a big kiss (causing him to pass out and hallucinate) before leaving to join the others. The group continues dancing and Yaya uses magic to make various objects come to life and dance (Tables, houses, buildings and even the Moon). Finally, the party ends and Donald and José leave the book.
Disney Parks[]
Yaya appears in the Disney Dreamers stage show at Disneyland Paris, where she sings "Os Quindins de Yaya".
Trivia[]
- In Brazil, Baianas are famous for the food they sell, especially the "acarajé", which is a fritter made from cowpeas. They are also easily recognizable on the streets in Bahia because of the dresses they wear, which are normally of cotton and colored all white, and they also wear headscarves and long necklaces.
- Aurora Miranda who portrayed Yaya is the sister of another famous Brazilian singer and dancer Carmen Miranda.
- Aurora Miranda was not as fluent in English as her sister, Carmen, so when she says "Hello" to José, and "Come on, boys!" to José and Donald, it is dubbed in.
- Yaya was the first live-action character in a Disney film to interact with animated characters.
- The character Xandra from the series Legend of the Three Caballeros is based on Yaya.
Gallery[]
