sternship
Well-known member
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
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