Cine once...

Those days were long ago, the Tan Quang cinema of my hometown Nha Trang (later Maximark Supermarket and now a 10-storey hotel and restaurant) was located right at the corner of Yersin and Ly Thanh Ton streets, in the city center. Every time I pass by this place, my heart always remembers the happy memories here.

At that time, this cinema often had famous cai luong troupes performing every night to serve the people of Nha Trang, so every night this place was crowded and brilliant with bright hanging lights, the theater was also quite large, with a capacity of hundreds of people. The famous cai luong troupes that came to perform at that time were often Kim Chung 5, Minh Canh, Kim Cuong drama troupe... There were many famous artists at that time, such as: Minh Vuong, Minh Phung, Le Thuy, Minh Canh, Ngoc Giau, Bach Tuyet, Van Chung, Thanh Nga, Thanh Tu, Bao Quoc..., the people of my hometown admired them very much. My mother was the same, she loved cai luong very much, there was no play that she did not watch. Because of working hard all day, taking care of meals, raising 7 of us, my mother's only pleasure was to enjoy watching cai luong.

Tan Quang Cinema of Nha Trang.

At that time, my neighborhood was a poor working-class neighborhood, during the day we worked hard to make a living, but at night we gathered together in harmony and joy. Most of our aunts, uncles, and children loved cải lương, and when they mentioned the names of the artists, they could tell them all. Whenever we heard the loudspeaker announcing a new play (there were usually loudspeakers going along the city and handing out flyers), the whole neighborhood was as happy as a festival that night, every family would cook and eat early, dress up and go see cải lương at Tân Quang theater… The show had just started at 8:30 p.m., but at 6 p.m., the roads leading to the theater were already crowded with people and vehicles, mainly pedestrians, cyclos, bicycles, and motorbikes and cars were rare at that time. The crowd gathered more and more in front of the theater, the women selling fruits, bean candy, chewing gum, sweet soup, sugarcane juice, and the houses next door that kept cars all made a living thanks to the theater. I also often go with my mother to watch, mother and daughter go with some neighbors, walking the whole way and chatting happily and friendly, the neighborhood relationship becomes more and more close.

At that time, Tan Quang theater had a cai luong troupe perform (with artists Minh Phung, Kim Cuong, Le Thuy, Van Chung) and almost all the tickets were sold out. The theater gate was so small that only one person could enter, and the ticket checkers had a hard time because it was so crowded. In the theater, in the lobby outside, there were often beautiful frames of photos of famous artists hanging, those who came early could freely look at their idols' photos. We kids, on nights when we didn't have enough money to buy tickets, eagerly waited for the end of the play. Taking advantage of the ticket checkers letting us in to watch the last part was also a relief, so much fun.

After several hours of watching cải lương, when leaving around 11pm, the streets were bustling with people going home, laughing and talking all night, discussing the content of the play they had watched. My mother was also filled with joy, all the hardships seemed to disappear, regaining her energy to work for the next day.

Now, almost everything has changed to integrate into the new life, in the era of being flooded with all kinds of entertainment, social networks..., cải lương is no longer as glorious as before, there is no longer the scene of groups of people going to see movies like festivals. The distance between neighbors seems to be gradually growing further apart, the streets are bustling and bustling every time there are movies or plays, cải lương is now only in memory. However, every time I pass the corner in front of the old Tân Quang theater, my heart cannot help but feel nostalgic, remembering the past days, remembering so much that this place once brought joy to the life of my beloved mother!

DINH THI CAM NHUNG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/nhung-vung-ky-uc/202408/cine-mot-thoi-4da1ad6/