Capa means cover. It is the wrapper: the leaf the smoker sees, the leaf the roller stretches last, and a large part of the aroma at a cold draw. Cuban factories and many New World rooms still use the Spanish word on the floor.
Capa grades are sorted by size, elasticity, vein, and color. A leaf with a hole or a thick vein that will print through the cigar does not make capa. It may still make capote or even tripa.
Color words — claro, colorado, maduro, oscuro, candela — describe the finished capa, not a different species of tobacco.