Ho Chi Minh City to host “Welcome New Year 2011” festival

Ho Chi Minh City Youth’s Cultural House has mapped out numerous cultural activities to welcome in the New Year from December 24 to 31, according to the head of the Event Planning Service Department of the Youth’s Cultural House, Nguyen Hong Phuc.

On the streets, the air of Christmas is boisterous.

The weeklong festival, which is called “Welcome New Year 2011”, will bring free and interesting programs for the youth. These will include fashion and music performances, singing contest, exciting games and other activities.

On December 24, it will be the “Christmas Gala 2010” and the “Dance of Hair-Spring fashion” will be on December 31. These will be the main highlights of the festival.

Ho Chi Minh City Youth’s Cultural House received more than 30,000 visitors in the “Welcome New Year 2010” festival.

Uyen Linh crowned Vietnam Idol 2010

Tran Nguyen Uyen Linh of Ho Chi Minh City won the Vietnam Idol 2010 contest on December 25.

22 year old Linh, a recent graduate of the Vietnam Academy of Diplomacy in Hanoi, beat Van Mai Huong to the title and won the prize of US$20,000 and a year-long record contract.

On the final day of Vietnam Idol, Linh sang Giac Mo Nao Cua Toi (dreams of mine), composed by Bao Chan and also sang a duet with singer My Linh (I believe I can fly).

Last week, she sang “Sao Anh Chang Ve” (Why You Don't Return) composed by Vietnam Idol judge, Quoc Trung. She entertained viewers with a wonderful improvisation of the melody and lyrics.

Tran Nguyen Uyen Linh (L) crowned Vietnam Idol 2010.

For the final song on the final night of Vietnam Idol, she performed Cam On Tinh Yeu (Grateful for Love). Linh modulated her voice rendering an emotional version that moved judges and audiences alike.

Runner up Huong from Hanoi, though only 17 was a good competitor and consistently wowed audiences and judges with a great and powerful voice. She bowled over audiences with her impersonation of Katy Perry when she appeared in a black wig and rimmed glasses to sing Hot and Cold. However she was unable to match Linh in the finals.

Judge Diem Quynh believed this young student from the Military Culture and Arts College had a great talent and could have a long career ahead of her. The two contestants beat 25,000 competitors to make it to the finals at the Lan Anh Theatre.

Vietnam Idol is based on the British television hit show Pop Idol and is produced by Ho Chi Minh City Television and Vietnam Advertising Company. In its first season in 2007, Phuong Vy was the winner.

Source: DTinews

An interview with Chinese actor Liu Xiao Ling Tong in Vietnam

Chinese actor Liu Xiao Ling Tong, famous for starring as Sun Wukong or Monkey King in a popular 1980s Chinese TV series, raises numerous monkeys to the point his daughter thought one monkey was her father.

The 51-year-old internationally-acclaimed star in the epic ‘Journey to the West’ gave an exclusive interview Saturday with Tuoi Tre during his five-day tour in Vietnam starting December 25.

Can you communicate with monkeys in real life?

The number of monkeys I keep in my house are even more numerous than my family’s offspring.

But it’s not always an advantage if you keep close contact with the monkey. My daughter grows up thinking that she is a daughter of the monkey.

Even my wife sometimes becomes shocked at seeing our house like a hideout for monkeys. Also she is sometimes panicked seeing me in anger with my eyes opening wide [in imitation of the Monkey King].

I know a photographer who won an international award with a photo he took of me and a monkey. At the time, I was costumed as Sun Wukong and the real monkey looked like it was trying to shake my hand.

It’s in the animal’s instinct to raise its hand upon seeing me. The picture undergoes no modifications like Photoshop or whatsoever.

The monkey shares similar feelings with humans being, has happiness, anger, love and hatred. It may become sulky if you tease it with fruits but then take them back.

If you treat a monkey well, it will return the favor to you.

You announced that you will not teach anyone how to act the Monkey King the way you did?

A minor crisis has taken place with the role of Sun Wukong in China. Those who act differently from me will not be accepted by the audience. But doing it similarly to me is called mimicking.

Many learners who train themselves to become actor of the Monkey King admitted that the more they tried to mimic, the more impossible the task would be.

So I don’t want to teach anyone because I want to let them study themselves from what I did and develop it into their own, not to mimic it.

Besides, I now find it interesting with the other job: writing and taking care of the Hall of Fame of Wu Cheng’en [who is credited with authoring the novel] and an exhibition hall for me [in the eastern province of Jiangsu].

What do you think about new variations of Sun Wukong, the main character of the novel?

In some films adapted from the novel, they let Sun Wukong having sex with monsters, or marrying an adopted daughter of the Bodhisattva of Mercy.

I always give the advice when I come to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and others that ‘you should develop it not to distort it’.

One of the main characteristics of Sun Wukong is honesty.

I know children in Vietnam enjoy watching Sun Wukong on television every summer and I want to tell them that Sun Wukong always keeps his eyes over children’s development.

Source: Tuoitrenews