VNA fetes Spanish friendship

Nearly 120 photos showcasing Spain's landscapes and people are on display at the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) building in HCM City.

The Spain, Country and People photo exhibition was organised by the Viet Nam-Spain Friendship Association and the Embassy of Spain in Viet Nam to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The photos, taken by photographers from Spain and VNA photojournalists, include landscapes, culture, sports, people's daily life.

Popular Spanish figures like singer Julio Iglesias, tennis star Rafael Nadal and film star Penelope Cruz are also pictured.

Among the works are photos of the countries' leaders during several trips, including visits by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia to Viet Nam in 2006, and President Nguyen Minh Triet's trip to Spain in 2009.

Spanish photographers' works of Viet Nam's landscapes are also part of the exhibit.

The exhibition, which will end on Sunday, can be seen at 120 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 3.

Jazz concert features French saxophonist

Jazz saxophonist Sophie Alour of France will perform at a concert at the Institute for Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) in HCM City on December 4.

Tran Manh Tuan, a popular saxophonist among jazz fans in Viet Nam, will accompany her on several pieces.

After first studying clarinet, she picked up the saxophone on her own when she was 19 years old. In 2007, Alour received the Django d'or Award for young talent.

Alour is an accomplished side player who has performed with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Rhoda Scott and Aldo Romano. In 2001, she founded her own sextet, and released her debut album, Insulaire, in 2005.

For more information, visit www.sophiealour.com. The concert begins at 8pm at IDECAF at 31 Thai Van Lung Street in District 1. Tickets are VND100,000 (50 per cent discount for students). Call IDECAF at (08) 38239968.

Exhibition recalls ‘Dien Bien Phu in the air’ battle

More than 800 domestic and overseas publications featuring the 1972 victory over the US air force in Hanoi’s skies are on display at an exhibition which opened in the capital city on November 21.

They highlight the war of resistance against US aggression and the sound leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, the heroic glorious tradition of the Vietnam People’s Army, the ‘Dien Bien Phu in the air’ battle, its significance and lessons, as well as the tradition of the Air and Air Defence Force of the Vietnam People’s Army.

Visitors to the exhibition inside the Army Library have a deep and comprehensive view of the great victory of the Vietnamese people and army and review the glorious tradition of the Vietnam People’s Army.

The Army Library introduced a book on “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the Air,’ summarising comments on the campaign over the past 40 years.

Exchanges and workshops will be held throughout the exhibition which ends on December 31, 2012.

Lam Dong honours beverage steeped in tradition

The fourth Tea Cultural Week, a biannual ritual that honours the centuries-old Vietnamese tradition of tea drinking, will take place in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong from December 21-28.

Tea producers from different countries will take part in an international conference about the artistic aspects of tea. A street parade, a visit to tea gardens and a tea-collecting contest will be also organised during the event.

These activities will mainly be held in the province's districts of Bao Loc, Bao Lam, Di Linh and Da Lat city.

Lam Dong has an area of 26,000ha for growing tea trees and has become well-known across the nation for the diversity of tea brands produced there.

Duo d'Accord to open European Music Festival

The Duo d'Accord composed of pianists Lucia Huang and Sebastian Euler will open the European Music Festival with works for two pianos and percussion at the Goethe-Institut tomorrow at the HCM City Conservatory.

In addition to their own arrangements, the duo performs works that have been composed specifically for them as well as revivals of classic pieces.

Shortly after the founding of Duo d'Accord in 1999, they won the two most important piano competitions worldwide, including the first prize at the Murray Dranoff Competition in Miami.

In May 2011 the duo performed for the first time at a gala concert celebrating Europe Days in Viet Nam. Their huge success was the inspiration for a German-Vietnamese co-production at the European Music Festival.

Following concerts in Ha Noi and HCM City, Euler will give a week-long master class for piano at the National Academy of Music in Ha Noi.

Their concert will start at 8am at the HCM City Conservatory at 112 Nguyen Du Street in District 1. Free tickets can be picked up at the Goethe-Institut at 18 Street 1, Do Thanh, Ward 4, District 3. Tel: (08) 36009588/ 38326716.

Women's Club hosts 21st annual charity bazaar

The Ha Noi International Women's Club (HIWC) will host its 21st Annual Charity Bazaar on Sunday at UNIS in Ciputra Urban Complex, Tay Ho District, from 10am-3.30pm.

All proceeds will be donated to charity projects supported by the HIWC Community Aid Committee in Ha Noi and in northern Viet Nam.

A fun-filled day of shopping, eating, drinking, taking in live entertainment and activities for kids, the bazaar offers an opportunity to explore Ha Noi's multicultural community.

Ticket costs VND120,000 presale, VND150,000 at the gate for adults and VND50,000 for children ages 3-12.
They can be purchased at J.A.F.A., Jaspas, Oasis, Pure Heaven and Southgate.

Poets star at bilingual spoken-word night

The latest chapter of Noi Hanoi, an evening of spoken word in Vietnamese and English, will present poems by Vietnamese writers Thuy Hang and Nha Thuyen and American writers Jacob Evans and Claire Barnard.

Prior to the event, the four poets met to talk about each other's work. What they will present may not be conventional translations, but will illustrate one of the many ways that poetry can create a dialogue that transcends language and culture. The readings will be followed by a question-and-answer session and an open mic.

The event will start at 8pm on Sunday at Tadioto, 12 Truong Han Sieu Street. For more info, visit www.noihanoi.com.

Cultural preservation group to hold city walk

Friends of Vietnam Heritage (FVH), an informal group of mainly Ha Noi residents from different countries working voluntarily to promote and preserve Vietnamese cultural and historical heritage, will host a city walk to discover the Viet Nam Museum of History on November 29.

The French-speaking tour will start at 9am at the museum's ticket office, 1 Trang Tien Street. During the two-and-a-half hour tour, visitors will learn about the unique colonial architecture of the museum, which used to be a symbol of the colonial regime in Indochina. In addition, the attendees will learn about the history of Viet Nam, its long march to win independence and revolutions to defend its sovereignty.

The fee to attend is VND70,000. To register for the tour, contact Nicole at nicole.nicolemaillard@gmail.com.

Award-winning short films set for screening

Future Shorts Viet Nam will present a series of award-winning short films at the I'm Your Cafe coffee shop on November 24.

Prominent among the screenings will be Cafe Regular, Cairo, written and directed by Ritesh Batra, which won a Special Jury Mention at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2012; and The Black Balloon, directed by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, winner of the Jury Prize for short films at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.

Bui Hoang Nga's Life Goes On, Nguyen Thi Nam Phuong's Innocent Memory, and Dancing in the Park by Henry Mochida and Mike Douglass will also be screened.

The event will begin at 7pm. Entrance tickets cost VND60,000, with students paying VND30,000. The screening will be repeated on November 28 at 29/27 Doan Thi Diem Street in Phu Nhuan District.

UK dubstep DJ to perform in HCM City

The Beats Saigon, a music event promotional crew that promotes underground music, will present the UK-based dubstep DJ and producer Steve Goodmans, known as Kode9, at La Fenetre Soleil on December 1. As a celebration of Beat Saigon's sixth anniversary, the event will also include performances by DJs Heru and Jase.

Goodmans owns the Hyperdub record label, one of the most popular dubsteb labels in the world. He has released two albums – Memories of the Future and Black Sun.

The performance will be held at 44 Ly Tu Trong Street in District 1. Tickets cost VND100,000 each.

City to enjoy Japanese comedy film week

Eight Japanese comedy films including two animation works will be screened at the Dong Da Cinema from November 24 to December 1. The films, including Summer Days with Coo, Double Trouble, Hush!, and Mind Games, will be dubbed into Vietnamese and carry English subtitles. The screening will begin at 1 pm and 3.30pm at 890 Tran Hung Dao Street in District 5. Free tickets are available at the venue.

Exhibition documents 1972 Ha Noi campaign

Books and documents, 800 in total, featuring the 1972 US B52 blitz of Ha Noi are on display at the Military Library in the capital.

The campaign, called Ha Noi-Dien Bien Phu in the Air, involved 12 days and nights of continuous B-52 bombings by US airforce against Ha Noi 40 years ago.

The books on display focus on different themes including the civilians' and troops' bravery and determination in fighting against the US airforce.

The exhibition opens until December 31 at 83 Ly Nam De Street.

US fund helps restore temple devotional items

Part of a red-lacquered and gold-trimmed collection of wooden devotional items, including altars and other furniture, at Thai Binh Provincial Museum, has been restored with financial support from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).

The project costs US$30,000. So far, 15 out of the 29 items have been restored.

The pieces, dating from the 17th to 19th century, were collected by the museum from around the province, mainly in communal houses, pagodas, temples, and shrines.

The objects not only have historical and cultural value, but are also folk art pieces which reflect the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people living in one of the Hong (Red) River Delta provinces.

The AFCP was established by the US Department of State in 2001 to help less-developed countries preserve cultural heritage and to demonstrate US respect for other cultures.

Since then, the AFCP has supported more than 650 cultural preservation projects worldwide, including 10 projects in Viet Nam, totalling $29 million.

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