Exhibit showcases rare photos of diva Hong Nhung, legendary composer Trinh Cong Son

Trinh Cong Son – dubbed the “Bob Dylan of Vietnam” by American folk singer Joan Baez – and Hong Nhung talk with each other before lunch sometime in 1993.
They were discussing the song “Bong Bong Oi,” which was one of three songs specifically written for the singer by the late veteran composer.
Although there are a lot of scratches on the photo, photographer Duong Minh Long kept it because he liked the its melancholy vibe.
The photo was introduced to the public for the first time during the the photo exhibition “Giot Nuoc Roi Tren Kinh,” (The Rolling Droplet On the Glass), which opened April 1 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hong Nhung says that she still remembers every detail exchanged between her and the musician during their break in the middle of recording an album. They were sitting on the stairs, and behind them a poster of a famous album by veteran singer Khanh Ly was hung on the wall.
At that time, Hong Nhung had just moved to southern Vietnam to establish her career.
She recalled that she and the legendary composer were recording at an old musical theater in District 3, where she had to leave her vehicle in a private parking lot outside and pass through a market before reaching the theater. “After stepping into the theater, all the noise disappeared,” she recalled. “There was a quiet atmosphere inside, and the only sound I could hear was the music and others singing.”

Trinh Cong Son gave a flower bouquet to Hong Nhung during a performance at the Nhac Sy venue in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, in 1997.
The Vietnamese diva shared that the majority of the photos exhibited were unknown to her. She couldn’t even recall the occasions on which some photos were taken.

The two artists after a practice session in 1994. Son had been quoted as saying: “I like how Hong Nhung brings a fresh atmosphere to my songs. She makes them up-to-date. Through her performances, my works become relevant in the current era, and not simply echoes from the past.”

Hong Nhung recalled that during her first encounter with Son, when she was 21, she whispered “Hello uncle,” which was a Vietnamese pronoun used to call men who are many years older. Trinh Cong Son responded “Am I your relative?” and asked the singer to call him “anh” – a Vietnamese pronoun often used to call men who are a few years older than the speaker. “Since then, I referred to Trinh Cong Son only as ‘anh,’” she said.

The singer attributed the close relationship between her and the veteran musician to the fact that both were introverted but love joking around. When she first met him, she was hated by many people for “hanging out with a famous musician despite being skinny, ugly, and having dark skin.” Yet she didn’t let herself be affected by those words, because she was adored by the musician. Trinh Cong Son once advised her, “Just calmly wave and say hello to your life.”

In addition to the photos of Hong Nhung and Trinh Cong Son, many photos at the exhibition feature Hong Nhung in her early-twenties. They include one photo of her taken in 1991 at her home in Van Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City.

Hong Nhung when she had a snaggletooth, distinguished eyes, and bangs.

Hong Nhung’s innocent beauty inspired the musician to compose the song “Thuo Bong La Nguoi” (When Bong Was Human), which includes a line saying “Bong had fun with the sea. Bong had fun in the mountains. Bong had fun with me.”

Hong Nhung and her father – translator Le Van Vien. The photographer once considered not including the photo in the exhibition as the singer’s father was topless, but the singer herself asked him to exhibit it, as she loved the comfortable vibe of the photo.

Duong Minh Long and Trinh Cong Son in Hue in 1995. Long was born in 1962 in Hanoi, and used to work as a photojournalist at the Lao Dong newspaper between 1991 and 1998. During the period between 1984 and 2004, he had 25 personal exhibitions in Vietnam and also in several European countries.
The photographer first met the musician in 1990, after coming back from Moscow, to hold his first private exhibition. Since then, Duong Minh Long followed Trinh Cong Son and captured his life for 11 years, including four years living in the same house with the late musician. He estimated that he had between 9,000 and 10,000 photos of Trinh Cong Son. Over the past 28 years, the photographer moved 28 times, but he still preserved around 100 kilograms of documents and materials about Trinh Cong Son.