Hanoi set for international electric music
festival

Hanoi
will host the 4th annual international electric music festival on April 15 and
16.

This year Hanoi Sound Stuff has been themed “Green
Connection” and hopes to raise awareness of environmental protection through
theater and music performances by Vietnamese and international artists like
Silvouplay (France), Timeart Ensemble (Germany), Space 360 and Horn (Thailand),
Raysoo (Malaysia), and Tri Minh, DJ Kruise, and Ha Okio (Vietnam).

It has also joined hands with the global short film network
Future Shorts to screen experimental short films.

Tickets to the festival to be held at the Viet Nam Exhibition
Center for Culture and
Arts, 2 Hoa Lu street,
cost VND 50,000 (US$ 2) and are available at the Goethe Institute and French
Culture Center L’espace.

Vietnamese to vote
for favorite books

Vietnamese of all ages are called upon to vote for 10 books
they believe have been most influential in their youth in an event launched by
Ho Chi Mink City’s Youth Union and Writers Association.

The “The Vietnamese book I love” campaign, which was
launched to mark the HCMC Youth Union’s 80th anniversary, will be open until
April 30.

Each voter can nominate a maximum of 5 books published from
April 30, 1975 to December 31, 2010 and send a comment (1,500 words maximum)
about the most favorite of them all to the HCMC Youth Union’s Propaganda and
Education Department.

Based on these nominations, the organizers will pick 100
books for another round of public voting from May 5 - 19.

The title “Quintessential Vietnamese Book” will be given to
10 books with the highest votes.

The award ceremony will be held on May 30. The organizers
hope to organize this event once every two years.

Trinh Cong Son’s love
songs hit Hue city palace

Following two music shows “Mountain Shadow” held in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi,
the same event themed “Hue-Saigon-Hanoi” will be opened at An Dinh Palace based
in Hue central
city at 7:00pm today.

The event, jointly organized by the province’s Hue Arts and
Literature Association and late musician Trinh Cong Son’s family, will feature
performances of famous local singers like diva My Linh, Duc Tuan, Quang Dung,
Kasim Hoang Vu, Uyen Linh, among others.

The audience will have a chance to watch it for free,
according to musician Le Phung - a member of the organizers.

It will be also aired on a wide screen in front of the
palace, and broadcast live on the local TV channel, he added.

Yesterday, a night music event titled “Trinh Cong Son – mot
coi di ve” took place at Hue-based Saigon Morin where spectators could enjoy
his immortal love songs.

Also the same day, Phuong Nam bookstore in the city’s 15 Le Loi Street
introduced three books by writer-translator Buu Y, featuring articles related
to him.

A painting exhibition to showcase the late composer’s
artworks is scheduled to take place at Saigon Morin Hotel on April 22.

The day after tomorrow (April 1) will be a big day to
commemorate the 10th death anniversary of Trinh Cong Son.

Born in 1939, Trinh Cong Son has been renowned
internationally for his romantic music and is widely considered one of the
three most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music along with Pham Duy and
Van Cao.

Son wrote over 500 songs, and, during the 1960s and 1970s. His
music remains very popular among both old and young Vietnamese.

Vietnam seeks UNESCO recognition for intangible
heritage

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has agreed to let
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submit two dossiers on two of the
country’s cultural practices to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

These proposals are expected to earn the country UNESCO’s
recognition of ‘Don ca tai tu Nam
bo’ (southern amateur singing), and ‘Tin nguong tho cung Hung Vuong’ (faith in
and worship of Hung Kings), as the world’s intangible heritage.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National
Committee of UNESCO Vietnam have finished necessary procedures to send these
applications to UNESCO headquarters in France before March 31.

The worship of Hung Kings, believed to be the nation’s
ancestors, have become customs that are passed down from generation to
generation. The worship plays an important role in Vietnamese culture, helping
to unite the entire nation.

Meanwhile, Don ca tai tu is closely associated with the life
of labourers and takes place in daily events such as weddings, birthday
parties, and other community activities.

Vietnamese snap up
photo awards

Vietnamese photographers have won three awards from the
International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) for works displayed at an
international exhibition in Singapore.

To Cong Vinh won a silver medal in the individual category
for his black-and-white photo Nuoc Ve (Fresh Water).

Cham Con (Take Care for Daughter) by Nguyen Dinh Duoc and
Ngay Tho (Naive) by Duy Ahh were awarded bronze medals.

The exhibition and competition were organized by the
Photographic Society of Singapore in partnership with FIAP to celebrate the 60th
anniversaries of both organizations.

The event was held with the intention of showing how
children go about their lives in different parts of the world and to boost
UNESCO’s goal of increasing awareness about underprivileged children.

Indian artists to
perform in Vietnam

A delegation of 15 Indian artists will perform at the Hanoi
Opera House from April 4-7, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism.

The Ladakh artists from India’s northern region will
perform traditional Indian music and dance, as well as introduce their
traditional costumes and musical instruments to Vietnamese audiences.

Established in 2004, the Ladakh art troupe now has 25
members under the leadership of renowned artist Tsering Sonam Sopari, with the
aim of preserving Indian traditional music and dance of ethnic people in the
northern region of India.

Ninh Thuan to host Vietnam sea
village festival 2011

The Vietnam
sea village festival 2011 will be held in the Southern coastal province of Ninh Thuan from June 5-8.

The Vietnam
sea village festival 2011 aims to present visitors to the local beautiful
landscape and exploit the island’s economic and tourist potential.

The festival is part of the National Tourism Year 2011,
which takes place in the southern central coastal provinces of Phu Yen, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh
Thuan, Binh Thuan and Da Nang
city.

With the theme ‘Paradise
for Sea and Island Tourism’, the National Tourism Year 2011 is a chance for the
region to promote its tourism potential.

PV