Artist Le Mai Born in 1938, she comes from a family where both parents work in the field of theater arts. Her childhood years were spent in the coastal land of Hai Phong, where her father grew up and worked as an artist for most of his life.
Her father is poet and playwright Le Dai Thanh, who was active in the Central Drama Team at the same time as The Lu and Song Kim.
Le Mai’s two younger brothers also made names for themselves in the art field: painter Le Dai Chuc and director and Meritorious Artist Le Chuc.
In 1954, she followed her father to Hanoi to take a job with the Central Theater Troupe led by writer and playwright Hoc Phi at that time. Here, Le Mai met and married artist Tran Tien (later People’s Artist). But due to cracks in family relations, the two later divorced.
Her three daughters and People’s Artist Tran Tien all became famous artists: Le Van, Le Khanh and Le Vi. At the age of 86, she still lives alone but does not feel lonely because her daughter Le Khanh also moved to Phan Dinh Phung (Hanoi) to live close to her mother.
Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, artist Le Mai said she also has many memories of Tet. She said, when she was a child, if she wanted to have a decent Tet, she had to prepare months in advance. Every child is eager to eat banh chung, sausage, salted meat… dishes that are not easy to get on weekdays. Around Tet, she often goes to Hoe Nhai market near her house to choose the most beautiful peach branches to bring home for Tet display.
“Tet is much more convenient now, there’s everything so you just have to go to the market to buy it, so the taste of Tet today is very different from before. Each time Tet is different, each time has its own interesting and unique things. “I have 2 Western sons-in-law, so my family’s Tet is also very special,” she shared.
The female artist said that her Western sons-in-law have all lived in Vietnam for many years, so they understand Vietnamese culture very well and treat people very politely and properly. For many years, she and her two daughters, Le Van and Le Khanh, have had the habit of wrapping and boiling banh chung themselves. She considers this to be her family’s routine.
“It’s great for a Western son-in-law to come to Vietnam. Le Van’s Dutch husband can’t speak Vietnamese even though he’s in Hanoi. Every time we talk, we talk through Le Van and the children. And Le Vi’s husband is French, he I like Vietnam, the house there still has cupboards and altars, I like banh chung, I like Tet, wherever I go I have good fortune to show it to my mother and give it to my mother.
Vi’s husband also likes to eat tofu and shrimp paste and rice like Vietnamese people. He still told his wife: “Honey, cook Phu Thuong rice and eat,” she said about her Western son-in-law.
Artist Le Mai said that one year Le Vi and his wife were in France for a long time. Because she missed her child, she went to France to celebrate Tet with her daughter’s family. The atmosphere of traditional Vietnamese Tet in the middle of France was simply wrapped up in a pair of banh chung that my grandmother brought over and a branch of Le Vi peach blossoms grown in my garden.
On New Year’s Eve (at that time in the French city of Ambois, it was 6pm), Mrs. Le Mai went to the door and “watched” (afraid that her son-in-law would come home from work and not know that it would be the one who broke into the house – Le Vi’s husband was not old that year). waiting for the time to go in and wish her children and grandchildren a Happy New Year… Even though she was abroad, her family still had a warm and complete Tet.
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The female artist shared that she also has few friends, so when she retired, she didn’t meet many people. The friend she hangs out with the most is artist Kim Xuyen. The two of them worked together at the Hanoi Drama Theater so they have many memories together.
“I often meet Kim Xuyen and Thanh Tu to chat. We work together so we have time to bond. When we meet, we have more things to talk about. Le Khanh often takes me to Kim Xuyen’s house to… gossip. Or sometimes, Kim Xuyen also comes to Phan Dinh Phung to talk to me,” artist Le Mai shared.
Every day, Mrs. Le Mai’s schedule is to have breakfast, then go to the water restaurant and sit until noon. She wakes up at 3 p.m. and goes to the water restaurant again.
“I’ve been at this restaurant for 10 years, so everyone knows each other. It’s fun to go there. The audience recognizes Le Mai and asks to take pictures a lot,” she confided.
The female artist said that after retiring, she was invited by a number of directors to participate in films. When she first retired, she still rode a cub to the film crew, surprising the young artists. But that’s her personality, she doesn’t want to bother anyone.
“Lately I’ve been having bone and joint pain. Due to old age, it can’t be avoided. I have leg pain, bone and joint pain, difficulty walking, and have to stay at home for treatment for a while,” artist Le Mai said. .