Promoting Vietnam's rich identity through water puppetry

(To Quoc) - For the first time, water puppetry - a national intangible cultural heritage - appeared in the program "Vietnam Day Abroad". Artist Phan Thanh Liem with a miniature water puppet stage is the only representative of Vietnamese water puppetry invited to Brazil to perform, serving overseas Vietnamese and audiences in the land of Samba.

Promoting beautiful Vietnam through traditional art

“Vietnam Day in Brazil” is an event under the program “Vietnam Day Abroad 2024” with the theme “Convergence of the quintessence of a thousand years - Rising in the new era” chaired and organized by the Department of Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO - Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The goal of the program is to promote the image of the country, people and culture of Vietnam to international friends; contribute to deepening and sustaining the relationship between Vietnam and other countries and strengthening friendship, understanding and mutual trust between the people of other countries and Vietnam.

Brazilian audiences enjoy experiencing Vietnamese water puppetry under the guidance of artist Phan Thanh Liem

“Vietnam Day in Brazil” took place in Rio de Janeiro from November 15 to 17 with many performances introducing the unique cultural quintessence of Vietnam such as water puppetry, lion and dragon dances and drums... The program was attended by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife. The water puppet performance was performed by artist Phan Thanh Liem, the creator of the miniature water puppet stage.

Although he has performed abroad many times, this is the first time that artist Phan Thanh Liem has been invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also the first time he has performed in Brazil. The artist shared that he is very happy and has made careful preparations for his tour. "The stage has never been as beautiful as this time, the preparation was very elaborate. The whole family stayed up all night to glue each tile into a beautiful roof. Not only that, the stage is also painted with gold, has the word "Tho", has 2 dragons on both sides, and a red tiled roof. The audience really likes the stage with the typical image of a Vietnamese village with a water pavilion, a banyan tree, and constantly goes in and out to take pictures" - artist Phan Thanh Liem said.

In addition, to reduce the cost for the entire group of artists to go to Brazil at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, artist Phan Thanh Liem also researched and created the lightest stage, from 150 kg to 100 kg. Most of the international friends were excited and delighted when they first enjoyed the water puppet show performed by artist Phan Thanh Liem.

Although he has performed water puppetry in many countries, artist Phan Thanh Liem still cannot help but feel moved and emotional when performing in Brazil.

Here, the artists performed some famous traditional Vietnamese water puppet shows such as dragon dance, phoenix fighting, buffalo fighting, boat racing, etc. These shows are easy to watch and understand, so there is no language barrier for Brazilian audiences. In particular, Vietnamese expatriates in Brazil are very interested in the water puppet show.

There was a Vietnamese family who married a Brazilian man and brought their husband, children, and parents-in-law to watch and they watched it over and over again until the afternoon before returning home. According to the family, this was the first time they had seen Vietnamese water puppetry, so they were quite curious. The family's children also had the chance to experience controlling the puppets themselves. Then there were Vietnamese girls wearing Ao Dai who traveled from far away places in Brazil to watch artist Phan Thanh Liem perform. According to the girls, because they missed their home and homeland, when they learned that a group of Vietnamese artists were coming to the land of Samba to perform, they did not mind the long journey to meet their compatriots and watch traditional water puppetry.

Artist Phan Thanh Liem and the audience of the Vietnamese girl who got married in Brazil

"There are very few Vietnamese people here, so when they watch water puppetry, they miss their homeland deeply. The audience really likes it. There was a Vietnamese woman who married a Brazilian man and brought her whole family. Her husband's parents watched it over and over again every day, from morning to evening before returning home," the artist said.

Artist Phan Thanh Liem said that when performing in Brazil, he interacted with the audience and always told everyone that Vietnam is a beautiful country and invited them to visit. “My wish is that the State will regularly send art troupes abroad to perform to promote culture. When international visitors learn about Vietnam's unique culture, they will come to visit, thereby contributing to stimulating tourism and contributing to the country's development,” artist Phan Thanh Liem emphasized.

Wish traditional art to spread

Artist Phan Thanh Liem is the 7th generation in a family with a tradition of performing water puppetry. His father, artist Phan Van Ngai, is the creator of the mobile water pavilion and the “father” of the image of Mr. Teu displayed at the Louvre Museum (France).

During his time participating in the family water puppetry troupe, he realized that the large stage was too cumbersome, difficult to move, and not suitable for small performing groups. Therefore, he created a miniature water puppetry stage, which debuted in 2000. He currently maintains two miniature water puppetry stages in Long Bien (Hanoi) and Kham Thien (Dong Da, Hanoi) to serve international tourists when they visit the capital.

In addition, Phan Thanh Liem is the artist who has taken puppets abroad the most in Vietnam. For nearly a quarter of a century, he has taken water puppetry abroad several times every year, performing at cultural events in many countries around the world such as Poland, Thailand, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, Italy, England, Canada, Malaysia, China, America, etc. There are long trips "ordered" by international organizations.

“I always believe that culture and art are “ambassadors” that do a very good job of promoting the country and people of Vietnam to the world. Therefore, I always hope that there will be more programs bringing Vietnamese art troupes to perform abroad, thereby promoting and spreading culture, attracting more and more international tourists to Vietnam…”, artist Phan Thanh Liem emphasized.

Artist Phan Thanh Liem's ​​most memorable memory was in 2022, when he performed in Korea. "The stage was installed in Seoul Park, and after just one day of performing, it started to rain heavily. When I returned to the hotel, the organizers reported that the stage was floating. I rushed to the performance location, but the water rose very quickly and there was nothing I could do to save it. Losing the puppet meant losing the actor. I had to abandon the show, and I was so sad I couldn't describe it," the artist recalled.

Foreign children enjoy experiencing water puppetry

In 2018 in Italy, just before the show, the water tank leaked due to torn nylon. He had to ask a local artist to help buy nylon, then disassemble and pump water... from the beginning.

"Although things like this are difficult in Vietnam, I still know the language and people understand right away. I don't know English, sometimes there is an interpreter, sometimes there isn't. Therefore, if you don't have passion, you won't be able to endure the hardship," the artist expressed.

The artist hopes that water puppetry in particular and Vietnamese traditional arts in general will continue to be promoted more widely to international friends, thereby expressing the unique and distinctive traditional culture of Vietnam./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/nghe-si-phan-thanh-liem-quang-ba-dat-nuoc-viet-nam-giau-ban-sac-qua-roi-nuoc-20241125225756527.htm