Street artists

That cool night, my friends and I gathered at a familiar restaurant. We brought our guitars and sang together the lively, passionate songs of youth. The “art show” reached its climax, and we also “mischievously” took out the dishes of the restaurant to use as props.

Suddenly, from somewhere far away, a soulful, emotional voice was heard, the song “Fate” by musician Thai Thinh, so sweet that I thought the owner was playing a record. A young man around 35, 36 years old with a portable speaker behind him, wearing a black T-shirt, a baseball cap, holding a microphone, singing passionately as if he were on a professional stage. We were silent for a moment, a few passersby turned to look at him with interest and surprise. His technique was not too excellent, but he put his whole heart and soul into the song, as if he was telling the story of his life.

At the end of the performance, the audience applauded non-stop, I noticed his eyes were a bit wet, but then he quickly turned away, smiled friendly, bowed his head to thank everyone and started holding the fish skin peanuts to offer to each table. Our table bought five packs, he bowed his head very low and politely said: "Yes, thank you very much, I wish you a happy and healthy evening". We were a bit embarrassed because we knew he was older than us, his gestures seemed a bit too respectful, but we also felt a bit happy and comfortable when our small coins were respected, unfortunately we would not be able to meet him again and listen to him sing again.

On the occasion of the 2023 Traditional Craft Festival, Nguyen Dinh Chieu walking street was bustling with people passing by, a street artist with a humble and soaring performance style, attracted the attention of the crowd. He wore a traditional ao dai, a turban on his head, the melodious flute seemed to be in harmony with the Huong River and the sounds of the earth and sky. Occasionally, a few spectators came forward and put some money in the box, he played the flute and bowed to thank. A child was given 5,000 VND by his parents, trotted over and he bowed to thank the child, I didn't have much to thank him but he still "returned" politely. That day I was in a bad mood, but the artist's subtlety made me feel less sad.

About 7 years ago, the Mashable Youtube channel posted a very special video, attracting nearly 17 million views: a skinny homeless man with long, messy hair and beard covering his face was sitting playing the piano on the street in Florida, USA, named Donald Gould. Gould immersed himself in the piano keys and seemed to forget everything around him, his clear, innocent and cheerful sound contrasted with his rough and somewhat sad appearance. Donald Gauld used to play for a symphony orchestra and toured around the world , he was proficient in many musical instruments besides the piano such as the flute, tuba... But then in 1998, his wife suddenly passed away, causing Gauld to fall into depression, addiction, lose custody of his children and live in the open. "Every night, I sleep under the stars, unless it rains," Gauld confided. Now, thanks to the viral video on social networks, he received a scholarship and regained custody of his children.

Three lives, three artists who are passionate about their profession despite their difficult lives. “The torn paper has kept the edge”, they are like wandering scholars in life!

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