Does Braga, Portugal, deserve more credit in ukulele history??

sternship

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hi there - I am currently living in Vigo, Spain and it is about an hour away from Braga in Portugal.

I have been doing some reading on the topic of the history / origins of the ukulele and with the original names being 'braguinha' / 'machete braguinha' / 'cavaquinho minhoto', I can't help but think that Braga should be credited more in terms of ukulele history as it is the place that spawned one of the instruments (I am aware of the rajao) that inspired the modern day ukulele.

Most of the ukulele websites seem to give credit to the Portuguese island of Madeira (I believe that this is where the sailors who introduced the 'braguinha' to the Hawaiians hailed from). Either way, the very name 'braguinha' means that it is little and that it hails from Braga ('inha' is a dimunuitive form in Portuguese i.e. like Rondaldinho, the footballer, just means Little Ronaldo). Also, from cavaquinho minhoto - 'minhoto' means that it hails from the River Minho region (which is the river which makes the border between Spain & Portugal, hence meaning N. Portugal).

I suppose you could say that 'Yeh, it may well have come from Braga but it would have stayed there had it not been for the people from Madeira introducing it to the Hawaiians' - this is true but it is still the home of one of the instruments and I think it should be credited with that accordingly.

I'd like to hear what you guys know / think. I'm going to Braga the day after tomorrow and hope to speak to some of the local music shop owners to see what they say about it. I'll keep you all posted.

In the meantime, here are some links;

http://www.lanikaiukes.com/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavaquinho

A very informative site on ukulele history - http://www.coolhanduke.com/history.html
How to get to Braga from where I live;
http://maps.google.es/maps?f=d&sour...51,0.617294&g=Braga,+Portugal&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=9
 
Sorry to ask a simple question...

This is actually quite interesting. But let me ask a simple question.

What's the difference between a 'braguinha' / 'machete braguinha' / 'cavaquinho minhoto' and a ukulele?
 
The coolhanduke page seems to describe the differences fairly well. For the most part, it's the tuning and purpose of the instrument that's different. The Braguinha is tuned DGBD and is used as a "lead" instrument and rarely played as a rhythm instrument.

Here's the best example I could find on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZhwWPudk6c

To tell you the truth, on first glance I can't tell much difference either.
 
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I still want to get a Lehua soprano because of this historical connection. :shaka: http://www.lehuaukulele.com/
pic6.1.jpg
 
I was visiting family in Portugal and wanted to buy some new strings, so I bravely went in too a music store only to be told that he didn't sell uke strings. When I pointed out he had ukes standing in his shop window my eyes were met with a cold stare and a 'that's not an ukulele'. Awkward.

Glad to finally find out what that cute instrument was then. It had been nagging me ever since.
 
I was visiting family in Portugal and wanted to buy some new strings, so I bravely went in too a music store only to be told that he didn't sell uke strings. When I pointed out he had ukes standing in his shop window my eyes were met with a cold stare and a 'that's not an ukulele'. Awkward.

Glad to finally find out what that cute instrument was then. It had been nagging me ever since.


Ouch! He should've at least been helpful enough to tell you what it was.
 
I think my main point was really that Madeira gets mentioned a lot in uke history yet there is no mention of Braga (despite the glaringly obvious connection with its name!!!). I was speaking to a Portuguese guy last night (I still haven't been to Braga) and he told me that there are lots of minor differences and each region has its own 'guitar' with slight variations. Despite this, it's curious to see that the names of instruments are which are always given in uke history are almost exclusively related to Braga / the Minho region (except the 'rajao', which, if I'm not mistaken, has the same tuning as a ukulele hence the connection) . I'm going tomorrow so I will post more then!!!
 
this is a selection of 'cavaquinhos minhotos' that they have in the music shop i went to - http://www.salaomozart.com/store/index.php?pag=produtos&cPath=306&anterior=233

I was speaking to the owner and he told me that the cavaquinho was still popular in the area but the 'braguinha' was a lot more popular in the Portuguese Atlantic Islands of Madeira & the Azores and despite originating from Braga, it hasn't been popular there for a long time. The cavaquinhos i tried were quite different - they had very fine steel strings and made quite a different sound (combined with the fact that they were tuned differently) - I would have bought one had it not been for the fact that the part on the bridge for the strings was so small that you couldn't change the strings to standard ukulele nylon / nylgut strings. The craftmanship was very nice however! I will put the photos up tomorrow when I get a chance!!!!
 
The mother/father of all is the cavaquinho from Braga. Today it is mainly used for rhythm, and when it is used for playing solo, the bottom string is used to play the music solo, while at the same time you do the rhythm with all the other cords. It has 4 cords (but there is also a solo cavaquinho version with the bottom 2 cords doubled, so with 6 cords) and the common tuning is A-A-C#-E (up-down) or G-G-B-D (up-down). But, there are other tuning styles (like D-G-B-D), depending on the type of cords you use, or the sound you like. Nowadays, the cords are thin steel and all 4 equal.
The Machête (or Braguinha, or Braga, or Machete from Braga, or even Cavaquinho) used in Madeira Islands use one of this less used tuning for cavaquinho (D3, G3, B3, D4), but the harm is more wide and the cords are made of nylon (more similar to the Ukulele). Don’t know if the differences from the cavaquinho from Braga began in Madeira Island or if they came from Braga. The
Yet, in Madeira Island, there is another typical instrument, similar to a small guitar, that is called the Rajão. This is probably a local version of an old viola used in the 6th century in europe, called “viola requinta” (sorry but I do not know the English spoken terminology for that, probably a quinto guitar). This old viola requinta used 5 double strings with D3, G3, D3, E3, A3. The Rajão, use 5 single strings, with the same tuning. The difference from a common guitar is the fact that the lower pitch cord is not the 5th, but the 3rd. This is the only thing that is similar in the Ukulele, but it has only 4 strings, made of nylon.
So, for me, the ukulele has far more from the cavaquinho from braga and from Madeira’s machete.
You have also other similar instruments called cavaquinho in Brazil, Cape Verde and Mozambique. They have steel strings and are a little bigger than the original cavaquinho from braga. Like the ukulele, they were taken there by the Portuguese sailors and are now a mixture of the local culture and the Portuguese original Cavaquinho (from Braga).

Some useful links for mor info: http://www.attambur.com/Recolhas/An...ogia_da_musica_tradicional_da_madeira_cp2.htm

http://www.jose-lucio.com/Pagina3/SonsCordofones/OS SONS/Rajao.htm
(this link has sounds from some of these instruments)

Tip: These links are in Portuguese, so you can use this link ( http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ ) to navigate in translated pages.
 
Hi Sternship,
My understanding is that Minho province is where the settlers to Madeira originally came from. That part of Iberia still has a Celtic flavour about it.
Galicia (Gauls, Gaels) Portugal. Together with the obvious connection between the languages of Galicia and Portugal. Lots of people from that region were transported to the new world and the atlantic islands, probably because of poverty in the area which continued right up to 25 years ago. Naturally the cavaquinho (armpit) and the Braguinha went with the settlers. Portuguese ships from Oporto went to Cape Verde and then out across the world. Sorry I digress, I agree with you that Braga should get more credit for the origin of the Ukulele although I was there last September for the fourth time in a 25 year span. I am yet to see a Braguinha played in the town. I bought my two favourite Ukuleles from Carvalho the factory is just south of Braga. That whole area of Iberia is really beautiful is it not?
 
hi!! josefico - muit obrigado por aquellos links - fallo espanol e eu acho que posso entender el portugues escrito!! Intento agora! Obrigado!:worship:

I Ukulista - yeh, I agree with you - the area is beautiful!!:) I loved Braga especially and the coast is fantastic - hoping to be able to get a place near there one day but that's more of a pipe dream than anything else at the moment!

I think it's very ironic that I started playing the ukulele in Galicia thinking it was a strictly hawaiian instrument when the home of it was just down the road! I'll have to buy a cavaquinho / braguinha when I go back.
:smileybounce:

So, when will we start to see Braga mentioned on the ukulele history websites I wonder....I think it's more than due the credit!! You can just see the lineage really - from Braga to Oporto, Oporto to Madeira, Madeira to Hawaii. What a journey for such a small instrument!
 
Hi
Yes I always tell people that the instrument traveled the world with Portuguese sailors in the same way English sailors took the squeeze box or Americans carried the harmonica. The APC instrument web site give their address as Cellios
which is just south of Braga. Have you attempted Fado on the ukulele? I also discovered that Cape Verde music 'morna' is Uke friendly. Boa sorte...
 
ok,, thanks again for some more interesting reading!!!!!!!! Maybe the big ukulele companies will start to include Northern Portugal in their ukulele histories if they start reading more stuff like this!

Is fado a stlye of music? (pardon my ignorance!) any sites to get 'fado' music from? Thanks!!
 
Fado

Hi
Fado is the soulful heart of the Portuguse. Plenty of Fado played late at night in clubs in Lisbon and Porto.There is a really good modern Fado singer Mariza. You will enjoy it. Morna is the music of the Cape verde islands check out Tito Paris and Cesaria Evora. Brilliant....
Best wishes from Cambria
 
Hi Arlindocosta,
Thanks for the link to the cavaquinho history.
Obrigada
 
Hi
Fado is the soulful heart of the Portuguse. Plenty of Fado played late at night in clubs in Lisbon and Porto.There is a really good modern Fado singer Mariza. You will enjoy it. Morna is the music of the Cape verde islands check out Tito Paris and Cesaria Evora. Brilliant....
Best wishes from Cambria

Cesaria Evora... Ooooh wonderful :drool:

Y'know, at a show I played in late August at a festival in Quebec City (synonymous with Alaska, as far as ukes are concerned), I whipped out my Kumalae and celebrated the 130th anniversary of the Uke's appearance in Hawaii, via the Ravenscrag, playing a song by Espen Lind... History and the New World. I think there will always be a debate about the cavalquino and tha braga but whatever, in my world, the diminutive uke rules...

Remember what that American guy John A Dix wrote about the Machete de Braga in 1850: "It's not probable that the machete will ever emigrate from Madeira." Wow, that's what happened and that's what became the ukulele.....
 
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