Hawaiian Ukuleles: A Cultural Symbol
There are lots of testimonies as to the origin of the ukulele in Hawaii however the most commonly
accepted is that it first showed up in Honolulu on August 23, 1879 with Portuguese immigrant Joao
Fernandez.
He obviously...
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Hawaiian Ukuleles: A Cultural Symbol
There are lots of testimonies as to the origin of the ukulele in Hawaii however the most commonly
accepted is that it first showed up in Honolulu on August 23, 1879 with Portuguese immigrant Joao
Fernandez.
He obviously was so happy to have fulfilled the 4 month, 15,000 mile voyage from Portugal that he
hopped onto the dock and started out playing his cavaquinho (a four stringed instrument formed like a
small guitar).
The Hawaiians were so amazed with the speed of his fingers travelling over the fingerboard that they
termed it the "ukulele", which translates to "the leaping flea".
The Hawaiians were brisk to follow the instrument as their own and the next ten years, it had become
amongst the most famous musical instrument in Hawaii. It was so popular that perhaps King David
Kalakaua, the last reigning monarch of Hawaii, had to learn to play it. The Ruler learned to play along
with built his own ukuleles because of Augusto Dias, one of many initial u
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