egarrard
08-22-2004, 09:06 PM
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Aug/22/ln/ln19a.html
The story of the 'ukulele, as Leslie Nunes heard it, starts like this:
Thousands of miles from their homes in Madeira, 419 Portuguese immigrants disembarked from the Ravenscrag 125 years ago at Honolulu Harbor — and celebrated with music.
"After a four-month journey from Portugal, they were so happy to stand on land, they pulled out instruments and began to play and sing," said the 68-year-old Kailua resident, whose great-grandfather, Manuel Nunes, was among those revelers.
Of course, the instrument was the braguinha. That miniature four-stringed guitar almost immediately became the model for the first 'ukulele, destined to become inextricably linked with Island culture.
The anniversary — the Ravenscrag arrived Aug. 23, 1879 — is being celebrated tomorrow in a free 'ukulele concert. It was produced by Leslie Nunes, who is a lifelong collector and scholar specializing in the instrument. But what about Don Ho?
The story of the 'ukulele, as Leslie Nunes heard it, starts like this:
Thousands of miles from their homes in Madeira, 419 Portuguese immigrants disembarked from the Ravenscrag 125 years ago at Honolulu Harbor — and celebrated with music.
"After a four-month journey from Portugal, they were so happy to stand on land, they pulled out instruments and began to play and sing," said the 68-year-old Kailua resident, whose great-grandfather, Manuel Nunes, was among those revelers.
Of course, the instrument was the braguinha. That miniature four-stringed guitar almost immediately became the model for the first 'ukulele, destined to become inextricably linked with Island culture.
The anniversary — the Ravenscrag arrived Aug. 23, 1879 — is being celebrated tomorrow in a free 'ukulele concert. It was produced by Leslie Nunes, who is a lifelong collector and scholar specializing in the instrument. But what about Don Ho?