Our founder, Hector Bernaldo, always loved Polynesian music and the Polynesian
culture growing up. in the early 2000’s, Hector decided to pursue that passion more
seriously. Buying his first ukulele, a concert size ukulele, he taught himself to play
and eventually joined Halau Ka Ua Tuahine in 2007. Under the tutelage of Kumu
Mahealani Uchiyama, he learned Tahitian drumming and further increased his 
involvement with Polynesian culture. This is where he discovered the Tahitian
Ukulele. According to Hector, “the sound of the tahitian ukulele captured me from
the  moment I heard it and I fell in love.” Performing with the group over the next
several years, Hector decided to start importing Tahitian Ukuleles from the South
Pacific and sold them to friends and to local customers as they are a very rare
instrument in the United States. More recently after meeting, Brian Brusas, an
inspiring young entrepeneur in the ukulele industry, Manea Ukuleles was born.

Ultimately, our goal is to provide you with a high quality instrument at a reasonable
price. We create ukuleles that future owners will be proud to show off and display
with delight. We want the owners to be as proud of their ukuleles as the luthiers 
that created them.

Our name MANEA is derived from the word for beauty in the Polynesian language
spoken on the island of Rarotonga. As a symbol of beauty, we chose to use the 
Tiare in our logo, the legendary tropical flower worn in the hair of the lovely ladies 
of the South Pacific.