In the past many Portuguese, mainly from the islands of Madeira and the Azores left their homeland and travelled to Hawai‘i, in seach of a better future. A part of the Portuguese traditions are kept alive in Hawai‘i by descendants of the Portuguese immigrants. A traditional festival which still lives both in Hawai‘i and in the Azores is the Holy Ghost Festival. Nowadays there are not many people left who still speak the Portuguese language and a lot of traditions have disappeared. Whereas immigrants from Madeira introduced the predecessor of the ‘ukulele in the past, the Hawaiian Portuguese themselves nowadays prefer to play the piano or some other keyboard. The CD presents a mixture of styles: remnants of Portuguese traditions in Hawai‘i, but also examples of authentic forms that still live on in the Azores and on the island of Madeira. The CD also contains a few beautiful examples of the Portuguese influence on the local music of Hawai‘i and other islands in the Pacific.
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