Meet the artist who devoted his whole life to the role of Uncle Ho

I met Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan at a performance to celebrate Youth Month, the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union on March 26 (1931-2023) organized by the Youth Union of Cam Pha High School. This is the 11th time Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan has come to Quang Ninh to play the role of Uncle Ho on stage.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan is from Gai village, Xuan Luong commune, Lang Giang district, Bac Giang province. He is famous for portraying President Ho Chi Minh on stage. He was influenced by his family's passion for art, had talent from a young age and appeared on stage in the 60s of the last century at Vinh Quang Opera Troupe, then Bac Giang Song - Dance - Music Troupe. Eager to learn and determined to succeed, he overcame difficulties and obstacles to graduate from the University of Theater. When he was young, Nguyen Van Tan was assigned to play roles such as Tong Tran in the play "Tong Tran - Cuc Hoa", Quoc Dat in the play "Tieng Trong Me Linh", the role of Thach Sanh in the play "Thach Sanh"... All left an impression, were praised by the audience, but he said he was still most satisfied with the role of Uncle Ho.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan said that he had only met Uncle Ho twice when he visited Bac Giang province, and since then the image of the beloved leader has always been present in his mind. Therefore, in 1970, when the Central Government issued a Directive on bringing Uncle Ho's image to the stage, Nguyen Van Tan was the Captain of the Ha Bac Song and Dance Troupe (formerly), and he was very excited to try his hand.

On January 17, 1974, the opportunity came when Nguyen Van Tan first played the role of Uncle Ho in the play “A Noble Memory”. The role left an impression on many people and directly the Secretary of the Bac Giang Provincial Party Committee, at that time, Vu Tho, wrote a letter of introduction for him to go to Hanoi with the content: “Send artist Van Tan to study and express the spirit and character of Uncle Ho”.

“I was fortunate to have comrades Vu Ky, Ha Huy Giap, Dang Xuan Ky tell me many stories about Uncle Ho's life and then guide me on how to plant trees, talk, Uncle Ho's manner when receiving domestic and international guests, his close and affectionate style when visiting units... Comrade Vu Ky also gave me a precious book set "Ho Chi Minh Complete Works" consisting of 10 volumes, a CD with 13 of Uncle Ho's speeches" - Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan recalled.

On May 18, 1992, the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) organized a performance for artists to portray Uncle Ho through the ages to report to the Party and State leaders. The Minister of Culture and Information (at that time, musician Tran Hoan) chose 5 people to play Uncle Ho, namely artists Van Tan, Tien Hoi, Duc Trung, Tien Tho, and Si Hung. That was also the time when he "made his name" in the hearts of the audience.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan said that he came to Quang Ninh this time to perform at the invitation of Quang Ninh Mining Chemical Industry Company in the program organized by the Quang Ninh Coal Party Committee to organize the Contest "Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's moral style" and contributed to winning the second prize of the contest for this unit. He is considered the person who has played the role of Uncle Ho the most on the Vietnamese stage because the performance with the extras of Quang Ninh Mining Chemical Industry Company was his 1,994th performance. Despite his old age, I found Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan more agile than the 80-year-olds I often meet. During the performance, he put on his own makeup without needing a makeup team to serve him. After the performance or while waiting for a new performance, he takes care of his own meals, just going to a restaurant to have a meal worth a few tens of thousands of dong to warm his stomach. He said: "It is the simple lifestyle that I learned from Uncle Ho that helped me succeed when playing the role of Uncle Ho."

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan, the role of Uncle Ho in the show — Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan plays Uncle Ho in the program. Quang Ninh Coal Party Committee organized the contest "Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's moral style" in mid-March 2023.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan said that his relationship with Quang Ninh was also a coincidence. In 1992, he came to Quang Ninh and was given the book "Uncle Ho with the people and ethnic groups of Quang Ninh" by the leader of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, published by the Quang Ninh Provincial Party History Research Department in 1971. Reading the book, Mr. Tan was impressed by the article in the book about Uncle Ho's visit to Deo Nai mine. From then on, he researched more articles about Uncle Ho and Quang Ninh to have a suitable role, because Uncle Ho's image is deeply engraved in the hearts of many Quang Ninh people.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan has performed many times in Quang Ninh on the occasion of localities and units organizing "Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's morality and style" sessions in Ha Long, Cam Pha, Tien Yen and many coal production units. During the artist's recent exchange performance with teachers and students of Cam Pha High School, he said: I am still nervous because the younger generation has not met Uncle Ho and does not understand the role. The school's educational sessions on studying and following Ho Chi Minh's moral example have helped the students understand and appreciate Uncle Ho's image, even though it is only a role on stage. The students sat quietly watching me perform as if they deeply engrave every word of Uncle Ho's teachings and my performance was a success. After the performance, many students ran up to take pictures with me and I loved my job even more.

Artist Van Tan always cherishes and carries with him pictures and articles about him in the role of Uncle Ho every time he goes on a long trip to perform. — Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan always cherishes and carries with him pictures and articles about him in the role of Uncle Ho every time he goes on a long trip to perform.

Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan said that in 1992, he performed at Tien Yen Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities in Tien Yen district. After the performance, an old man came and held his hand and said: "In my life, I have never met Uncle Ho, but seeing him perform on stage, I felt very moved as if I had seen him," which made him extremely moved.

Known as the person who “played the role of President Ho Chi Minh on Vietnamese stage and cinema to serve the people the most”, with nearly 2,000 performances over the past 49 years, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Tan always considers it a lucky, fateful opportunity and also a noble responsibility that the profession has given him. Up to now, he is old, but he is still passionate about the profession. He said: My life now has a pension, my children are grown up. I just want to bring the image of Uncle Ho to everyone, especially the young generation today, so that young people can understand more about beloved Uncle Ho.

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