Immersed in local culture
By Kim Ngan {authorlink}
Ao Ba Ba Festival 2023 wrapped up on October 1 in Vi Thanh City, Hau Giang Province, but its reverberation stays on, not only among the audience who came out of curiosity to explore how such a strangely named festival would turn out and how their traditional costume would be promoted.
The festival was vivid, intimate, and colorful, where the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang ingeniously managed to integrate economic and cultural dimensions into performances and visits over three days of the festival.
What has possibly settled deeply among spectators is the imagery of how “a community of high-brow dignitaries who would otherwise be very solemn-looking and fully occupied” have immersed themselves in the festival.
Daniël Stork (C, front row), consul general of the Netherlands in HCMC, participates in the festival, where he wears ao ba ba and performs a traditional dance of southern VietnamSaadi Salama (L, front row), ambassador of Palestine to Vietnam, joins various festival activities and enthusiastically promotes East-West cultural exchangeEthan C. Brown, Ph.D. (L), a psychologist at the University of Minnesota, the U.S., researches and teaches social science research methods and statistical cognition at Fulbright University Vietnam. Brown, along with 45 students, takes part in the ao ba ba fashion show.Kouteili Adib from Canada (L, front row), co-founder and general director of PEB Steel, and his lady, Kouteili Rima Issa (C, front row), showcase their ao ba ba during the opening of the festivalA local lady leads an ao ba ba parade on Xa No Canal in Vi Thanh CityVahram Kazhoyan, ambassador of Armenia to Vietnam, and his lady (second row from above), Hynek Kmoníček, ambassador of the Czech Republic to Vietnam, and his lady (third row), and Chairman of Hau Giang Province People’s Committee Dong Van Thanh (front)People’s Artist Tra Giang (in red), Ethan C. Brown (in purple), Vladovich Victor (in white), and Kseniia Kholkina (in gray and white) wave to visitors during the parade. Victor is business director of interior concrete designer and manufacturer UPCONCRETO, and Kseniia Kholkina is a lecturer at the HCMC University of Economics and Finance and also an artist.Vahram Kazhoyan, ambassador of Armenia to Vietnam, and his lady at the festivalLocal participants are all smiles in their ao ba ba at the festivalLocal participants are all smiles in their ao ba ba at the festivalDancers perform on the stage, deemed the cultural bridge between East and WestDancers perform on the stage, deemed the cultural bridge between East and WestThe traditional costume ao ba ba showcased at the festival is made from fibers spinned from Cau Duc pineapple leavesVendors at “Chồm hổm” Market in Vi Thanh City wear colorful ao ba ba throughout the three-day festivalVendors at “Chồm hổm” Market in Vi Thanh City wear colorful ao ba ba throughout the three-day festival
