Performances of Long An Art Troupe during the war (Photo archive)

Artist - soldier

Mr. Nguyen Dung - former Head of VCLA, said: The group was established in 1963 on the basis of the Provincial Youth Union, both serving and fighting; at the same time, gradually improving professionalism. The artists of the group are also soldiers in both the figurative and literal sense, they fight on both fronts at the same time - the cultural and ideological front and directly fighting with guns. During the fierce war years, the singing and playing of the VCLA group always rose high, the artists always stood side by side with the liberation soldiers in the great resistance war of the nation.

Sometimes the troupe performed on a stage of boats tied together under the canopy of cajuput forests, the audience was soldiers of the main army division that had just returned from a victorious battle. Sometimes on the dry fields of a lowland district, they served the farewell ceremony, only a few kilometers from the enemy's posts and posts, with enemy reconnaissance planes hovering overhead. The troupe often traveled back and forth on Route 4 (today's Highway 1) under the enemy's watch, to bring songs to the two regions of the province. They even crossed the Soai Rap River to serve the province's Disabled Soldiers' Camp deep in the Sac Forest.

There are many NS - soldiers in the Group who have fallen, some of whose bodies are still lost somewhere in the forests... Currently, in a Lo Go - Xa Mat forest near the border of Tay Ninh province, there is a small temple worshiping 7 martyrs of the VCLA Group who died in the B52 bombing on May 19, 1970.

Entering the Ho Chi Minh Campaign , the VCLA Group prepared a rather elaborate program, including all genres of music, traditional songs, drama, reformed opera, dance, etc. From Ba Thu, around mid-April 1975, they followed the liberation soldiers, following the banks of the two Vam Co rivers to the South. In the last days of April 1975, the Group divided into 2 wings. A small wing headed towards Hau Nghia to serve the army attacking this provincial capital. The remaining main wing of the Group (about 20 people) followed the Vam Co Tay River on the Thu Thua side, gradually advancing towards Tan An town. The Group's last performance in the war served the main force soldiers of the 5th Division in the Lang Co area.

Like many other performances during the 10 years of war, the stage that night was a high mound of earth, 2 microphones amplified by 6 Con Ó batteries, 2 iron speakers hanging on cajuput trees. There were still accordions, musical guitars, ancient guitars, zithers, etc. Four kerosene lamps illuminated the stage along with means of blocking the light when planes appeared. The performance ended early, the soldiers had to rest to continue marching to Tan An the next day. The electric light from Tan An shone into the night, brightening a corner of the sky. The artists wiped off their makeup while looking up at that bright sky.

On the night of April 29, the NSs stopped on the banks of the West Vam Co River . Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire from the direction of My Phu Islet, just a river away from the group. Many heavy guns (not rifles or submachine guns) shot up the surface of the West Vam Co River, and artillery shells flew over the treetops where the NSs stopped. Before they could understand what was happening, the NSs saw in the dim darkness several river boats pulling ashore to avoid the bullets. It turned out that a group of about 20 enemy river boats were fleeing from Tuyen Nhon to Tan An to continue out to sea. When they reached the above area, they were intercepted and defeated by the liberation army's tank unit parked on the shore.

The two leading ships were hit and sank on the spot, the rest retreated in panic, two of them strayed to the VCLA camp. And with just a few rifles and flashlights, the NS captured all the enemy soldiers and occupied the two ships, handing them over to the liberation army unit before marching to Thu Thua town according to the order of their superiors.

Liberation culture

At noon on April 30, 1975, the VCLA troupe and the liberation army entered Thu Thua town. The whole troupe split up and got into several blue cars and drove around town using loudspeakers to call on those serving in the Saigon government apparatus to come forward and explain the policies and guidelines of the revolutionary government so that the people could understand and feel secure. In the afternoon of the same day, a GMC was sent by the provincial leaders to Thu Thua to pick up the troupe and take them back to Tan An to prepare for a big performance.

On the evening of May 1, 1975, at Tan An Football Field (the area in front of the Provincial People's Committee today), a rally was held to celebrate International Labor Day, May 1. During the rally, a representative of the Provincial Military Management Committee gave a speech explaining the policies of the revolution, calling on people to feel secure and stabilize their new lives. But it was the performance program of the VCLA Troupe right after that that had the effect of erasing the old and new complexes in the town's people, making them feel that the revolution was very close to the people. The revolutionary artists only had one day to get acquainted with the modern sound, light, and musical instruments left by the enemy's Psychological Warfare agency. It was the first time they performed on a large, high stage, and it was also the first time the artists were blinded by spotlights. Then the sound of the electric guitar, the drums, and especially the bass guitar reverberated in their chests.

Tens of thousands of spectators were delighted and amazed by a magnificent and artistic program. Little did they know that the artists of the troupe had been trained in the forest by art masters (studying in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries) such as director Bich Lam, choreographer Thai Ly, musician Hoang Viet, etc. Notably, director - master scriptwriter Nguyen My personally went to Ba Thu to stage an elaborate program for the troupe before the campaign. Meanwhile, in Tan An town at that time, singing was still heavily amateurish. Therefore, the people of the town were truly surprised by the professionalism of the "Liberation Arts".

The songs Liberation of the South, Advance to Saigon, Storm Rises, I am the Liberation Army Soldier, The sound of the pestle on Bom Bo Soc, and the traditional song Em gai song song Song Vam by the voices of Kim Hong, Ngoc Mai, Kim Phuong, Minh Man, Le Minh, Huynh Trung, Bach Cuc, Truong Ky, Minh Tuan,... made the whole stadium sometimes silent to enjoy, sometimes burst into applause. The Cai Luong show Dem pha kim, written and directed by the master of theater Nguyen My, presented Tan An audience with a completely new stage style: Serious, tight, and carefully directed. In particular, the dance performances Tro ve, Goi duong, Tren duong pho Sai Gon performed by the husband and wife team leaders Nguyen Dung - Ai Nam and the dancers in the troupe enriched, enlivened and refreshed the program, with a few real gunshots to accompany the performances with "gunfire".

According to the estimates of those responsible, that evening there were more than 10,000 spectators who came to watch the VCLA performance. And the rally - art performance on May 1, 1975 contributed to quickly dispelling baseless worries, doubts, making the masses in the temporarily occupied area immediately sympathetic to the victors. The organizers were very worried about security and order for the performance, but that evening was very safe, without any disturbances. The performance of the troupe later on the dry field at the Department of Transportation was disturbed by bad guys with a tear gas grenade.

After that, the VCLA Group, with the ideal spoils of war for the profession, went to all the districts and towns to carry out the same mission as on May 1, 1975 in Tan An. The Group also returned to the old resistance base to visit and serve the people with a much more presentable image than before. Every place the Group went to, there was a grand performance, and when the Group withdrew, the mass art movement after liberation began to flourish.

A generation of artists born right after the victory day such as Cong Toai, Truong Giang, Le Phuong,... stepped onto the stage to replace the older generation who had to put down their guns and instruments to study in schools in the North and the South. After that, the VCLA Troupe changed its name to the Long An Song and Dance Troupe, existing until 1987 when it ceased operations after fulfilling its historical role. The Long An Cultural - Information Center was born and has developed to this day thanks to the pillars who were artists of the once-famous VCLA Troupe./.

Nguyen Phan Dau

Source: https://baolongan.vn/doan-van-cong-long-an-va-dem-dien-lich-su-01-5-1975-a194328.html