Singer Ha Tran releases new album

Vietnamese diva Ha Tran has released her latest album, Tinh Ca Qua The Ky Vol 2 (Love Songs through the Century Vol 2), featuring love ballads by veteran composers.

Vol 1 was released in 2007 in the US, where she settled down after marrying a Vietnamese-American producer.

Ha said she decided to release the new album in Viet Nam because she wants "to offer a fair treat" for her fans here.

"When the first volume was released in the US, I was to blame for not presenting it in Viet Nam," she said.

The new CD features 14 songs by famed composers such as Y Van, Tu Cong Phung, Nguyen Anh 9, Lam Phuong, Dien An and Luu Trong Lu. It was recorded in the US with music orchestrated by leading overseas Vietnamese composers such as Vu Quang Trung and Ignace Lai.

National television festival wraps up

The 34th National Television Festival wrapped up in Hue on Saturday, ending four days of film screenings, workshops and competitions.

The judges awarded prizes to nearly half of the 513 entries submitted for consideration at the festival.

Tran Binh Minh, general director of Viet Nam Television and chairman of the festival organisers, said the entries reflected many aspects of life in the country and were produced using new technology.

However, he added that many of them were not creative enough and he expected a breakthrough at next year's festival in Quang Binh Province.

The award winners covered the protection of Vietnamese sovereignty over the Paracel (Hoang Sa) and Spratly (Truong Sa) achipelagoes; and environmental protection at a time of rising pollution and illegal deforestation.

This year's festival welcomed 116 production units with over 500 programmes based on music, children's programmes, documentaries, reports, science and education, talk shows, ethnic languages and television series.

It was the second time that Hue has hosted the annual event, which aims to honour television workers around the country.

A photo exhibition has opened at the Kim Dong Culture Centre in Ha Noi showcasing the natural beauty and people of the capital.

The photos were selected from a contest themed "Exploring Ha Noi", and feature famous sites in Ha Noi such as Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake and the Tay Tuu flower village, as well as the daily lives of local people.

Tran Quoc Chiem, deputy director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the photos told the story of Ha Noi for visitors to enjoy.

The exhibition, organised by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, runs until December 30.

Lam Dong Tea Culture Week kicks off

The fifth Lam Dong Tea Culture Week 2014 themed “Tea flavour on Lam Dong Plateau” was kicked off on December 21 in the Central Highlands city of Bao Loc , Lam Dong province.

The event, part of the Central Highlands- Da Lat National Tourism Year 2014, includes a festival honouring B’lao tea, a contest of picking tea, a tea trade fair, and an exhibition on tea products.

Besides, on December 22-23, workshops on solutions to sustainable development of Lam Dong’s tea industry will also be held.

The Lam Dong Tea Culture Week is one of the province’s key cultural events aiming to honour tea growers and processors.

It also looks to popularise the B’lao tea brands as well as boosting promotion activities of the tea production in Lam Dong province

The culture week runs through to December 25 in cities and districts of Bao Loc, Di Linh, Bao Lam and Da Lat.

The Vietnam Tea Association (Vitas) expects the country will earn US$245 million from tea exports by the end of the year thanks to efforts to promote trade activities, reorganise production, diversify the product range, and improve the quality of tea.

Exhibition on Paracel and Spratly archipelagos to open in Kien Giang

An exhibition on historical and legal evidence proving Vietnam’s sovereignty over Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos will be held in southern Kien Giang province, heard a press conference on December 21.

The exhibition is due to be open from December 22 – 28 in Phu Quoc island district and from December 23 - 28 in Rach Gia city. Opening time are 8 am – 11 am and 2 pm – 5 pm.

Maps and a number of publications and documents written by Vietnamese and foreign historians and researchers are on display.

All of them are important historical and legal evidence asserting that the Vietnamese states have explored, exploited and exercised sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa and others waters since the 17th century in an uninterrupted and peaceful manner.

The exhibition aims at deepening the understanding of historical truth and confirming the nation’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos.

Maps and documents donated by the exhibition’s organising board after the event will be displayed at the Phu Quoc prison historical relic site.

Exhibition highlights Uncle Ho’s life at Presidential Palace

An exhibition on President Ho Chi Minh’s daily life and work from 1954-1969 at the President Palace is underway in Hanoi from December 19-January 5.

Hundreds of photos and objects are displayed focusing on two main topics: the life of the President and conservation work of the Ho Chi Minh relic site, which covers the stilt house where the President lived during the last years of his life and the Ho Chi Minh Museum.

Many valuable photos show the President in meetings with foreign guests and talks with outstanding soldiers and workers. Some captured moments when he lovingly talked to and played games with children.

Numerous drafts of documents he wrote are also on show, including remarks at the June 13, 1955 conference on promoting production and reducing hunger, his appeal to the country to resist against the US invaders dated July 17, 1966, and his testament.

The 45 years of maintaining and developing the relic site are reflected in documentary images and documents, after it was established in 1969 following the President’s death.

The relic site has served nearly 60 million visitors who come to study about the first President of Vietnam’s life, career, and revolutionary ideology.

Book on Vietnamese culture unveiled in Rome

An Italian book on Vietnamese culture titled “Vietnam: Myths and Stories” was introduced to Italian public in Italy’s capital of Rome, on December 20.

The book has a collection of Vietnamese folklores, legends, and historic figures compiled by Alessandra Chiricosta, a PhD on culture in Southeast Asia, and Maurizio Gatti, a specialist on East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Through the book, the readers could understand the way Vietnamese people perceive the world surrounding them as well as the formation of Vietnamese characteristics and the uniqueness of Vietnamese rich culture, the authors said.

Through passing down from generations to generations orally, Vietnamese people have been able to keep and educate the next generations on heritage of their country’s origins, history, and rich culture, Alessandra said.

Quan Vinh, an overseas Vietnamese who has settled in Italy for almost 40 years, said he was proud of the richness of Vietnamese culture and hoped the book will help foster mutual understanding and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Cor ethnic minorities preserve cultural identities

The Neu pole raising ritual and a set of worshipping objects called Gu used in the buffalo sacrifice ceremony have been well preserved by the Cor ethnic people in the central province of Quang Nam for generations as they hold a significant standing in the local spiritual life.

The Cor people is one of the main ethnic minority groups residing in Quang Nam’s mountainous areas, mostly in Tra Kot and Tra Nu communes of Bac Tra My district.

According to ninety-year-old patriarch Tran Van Hanh from Tra Kot, who is usually entrusted with making the Neu pole and the Gu set, the buffalo sacrifice ceremony is to worship gods and ancestors to pray for health and wealthy for the family and the whole village. Although the service is often organised by a rich family, it also attracts other villagers who will contribute rice, wine, chickens, and pigs.

The erection of a Neu pole is important since it will serve as a bridge inviting gods and ancestors from the heaven to witness the buffalo sacrifice, he added.

The wooden pole, about 4m high, is engraved with colourful images of the sun, the moon, mountains, streams, villages, crops, and livestock. A buffalo will be tied to the Neu pole during the ceremony.

Patterns carved on the pole demonstrate the harmony between man and the nature as well as the formation and development of the Cor community, Deputy Director of the Bac Tra My Cultural Centre Duong Lai said, adding that the banana flower-shaped top of the pole implies prosperity and development while a wooden black drongo on it represents the ethnic group’s unyieldingness in production and struggle against enemies.

Meanwhile, the Gu set is hung inside the house of the ceremony’s host. One item will be suspended on the main door to wish for good lucks to the host while another more sophisticated at the middle of the house for gods and ancestors to sit on and receive offerings laid beneath.

In July 2014, Bac Tra My district inaugurated an ethnic cultural square with a Neu pole erected at the centre and an exhibition hall with a Gu set hung inside.

Two months later, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognised the Neu pole raising ritual and the worshipping set as national intangible cultural heritages, which is believed to further encourage the Cor people to uphold their traditions.

Vice Chairwoman of the district People’s Committee Huynh Thi Thuy Dung said that in the coming time, local authorities will collect all documents on the practice of the buffalo sacrifice to make booklets to be handed over to local villages and schools, helping raise the Cor ethnic minorities’ awareness of maintaining and promoting their traditional cultural values.

Half-Korean girl, US teacher named winner of Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids

A Korean-Vietnamese 8-year-old girl and her mentor, an American singer/ teacher, won the first controversial local season of the “Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids” reality show past midnight on Saturday.

Ju Uyen Nhi, also known as Ju So Yeun, and her mentor- Kyo York- got away with a trophy and an award of VND700 million (US$32,947), with VND500 million to go to charity.

The pair masqueraded and performed impressively as Hong Nhung, a local pop diva, during the show’s final on Friday night.

Born to a Korean father and a Vietnamese mother who are both living in Vietnam, Ju scored high in the show’s previous rounds for her sweet voice, boisterous performance and bewitching impersonation as local male artists and Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor Paul Anka.

The little girl began learning to sing and perform since she was 3.5 years old.

Meanwhile, Kyo York, who has lived in Vietnam for over four years and considers the country his second homeland, has become a household name to most Vietnamese TV viewers thanks to his appearances as a contender, host, and coach on some game shows.

York, who speaks impeccable Vietnamese and performs emotional Vietnamese songs pretty well, has released several videos which feature him singing against the gorgeous background of Vietnamese landscapes in different regions of the country, including the Mekong Delta.

The season is an adaptation of the Portuguese reality TV show “Your Face Sounds Familiar” for children.

It required contestants to disguise themselves as celebrated singers regarding their appearance and voice.

Six kid contestants, aged from nine to 15, teamed up with six adult contenders from the first and second series of “Your Face Sounds Familiar” to perform in duos, masquerading as iconic musical performers of different eras.

The six adult contenders, who are local actors and singers apart from Kyo, mentor their young partners from all along.

However, the final sparked mixed reactions among viewers as three out of the six acts featured male artists dressing up as members of the opposite sex.

Kyo and two other artists, Minh Thuan and Chi Thien, disguised themselves as a local pop diva, a queen of the feudal times, and a nun for their acts.

Kyo’s appearance with a huge hair bun, heavy make-up and oversized “breast” scared several of the kids in the audiences.

The final of the show, meant for kids as main contestants and audience members, did not end until past midnight, which is another minus.

The high frequency of kids masquerading, or seeing their partners act, as celebrities of the opposite sex in the program’s previous rounds has created unease among many parents, viewers, and educators.  

According to a number of TV viewers, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper readers, and Quynh Nguyen – a Tuoi Tre reporter- who covered the program from beginning to end, the show’s minuses outweighed its pluses.

Apart from its inappropriate airing time of 9:00 pm, which is quite late for most kids, the show’s most worrying shortcomings are the high frequency of opposite-sex impersonation and undue mimicking.

Local TV viewers and the Tuoi Tre reporter observed that almost all of the 10 aired episodes feature at least one opposite-sex impersonation stunt.

Though the show’s organizer made it clear right from the beginning that boys were not allowed to dress up as female stars to avoid controversy and a public backlash, young girls freely  impersonated male celebrities.

Psychologists and parents have expressed concerns that excessive imitation can be a major impediment to kids’ creativity, and opposite-sex impersonation which involves the kid contestants themselves or their adult partners can leave a lasting adverse impact on the children’s growing awareness of their own gender orientation.

However, comedian Quoc Thuan- the show’s director, asserted that the show maker did not abuse opposite-sex impersonation to lure views and just allowed contestants to bring out their best.

VNN/VNS/VOV/SGGP/ND