Hawaiian Ukuleles: A Cultural Symbol

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... More

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 Less