The Regional Government of the Azores will present next week the application to the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the knowledge and practices of playing the viola da terra. The application will be formally submitted to recognize this musical tradition as intangible cultural heritage of Portugal.
The viola da terra is a traditional instrument of the Azores that maintains what is described as "primordial traces" of the Portuguese wire guitar. According to the analogy presented, the viola da terra can be considered the "great-grandmother of wire guitars," precisely because it preserves these ancestral characteristics.
The instrument maintains in its physical and sonic characteristics traces of the first wire guitars that existed in Portugal, which gives it significant historical and cultural value for the preservation of Azorean and Portuguese musical traditions.
The information was reported by acores9.pt, which highlighted the importance of this application for the valorization and protection of this traditional cultural practice in the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
