At 86 years old, it’s hard to earn money to raise children and the last wish of NS Hong Sap

At the age of 86, Artist Hong Sap Although she no longer received many roles, she still did not retire from the stage. For more than 50 years living in Nhon Hoa communal house (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), she is attached to the job of preparing costumes for artists to make a living for herself, her 62-year-old son and orphaned grandson. parents, also 22 years old.

Meeting VTC News reporter, the old artist was happy to have someone to talk to. She said, at this age, there is nothing more fun than having someone listen to you and review the ups and downs of life. She said she was originally from Hanoi, at the age of 8 she followed her parents to the South to sing. Tragic fate made her orphaned parents at the age of 10, living day by day thanks to the care of the pregnant woman Huynh Long singing group.

At the age of 14, she started to step onto the stage of Huynh Long troupe as an illustrator in plays, then gradually was given bigger roles. Artist Hong Sap gradually became familiar to the audience through villainous roles in a number of cai luong plays: Tam Cam, A lady’s love, Two lines of mother’s milk…. When cai luong was no longer popular, she turned to acting in dramas to make ends meet.

After many ups and downs, artist Hong Sap still goes to Nhon Hoa communal house every day to help with a play. Her job is to arrange and prepare costumes for the actors. Every day, she takes a motorbike taxi from the motel in District 7 to go to the communal house as a habit. In the past, when there was no technology car, she chose to take a bus for cheap. At noon, the old artist was taken care of by the people living in the communal house. At 4 p.m., she took the car home again to have dinner with her son and grandson.

“For 50 years now, I have come here every day. If I have a job, I do it, or if I don’t, I just come here to sit and light incense. This job does not have a monthly salary because only when there is a show will I have money. I don’t have an income every month, whoever loves me will give me money to live on. The people living in this family also love me very much. They do the paperwork so that I can have a little more allowance. Thanks to the dear god here, I’m still healthy.”she said.

Talking about her life, the female artist repeatedly wiped away tears with her hand. At the age of 30, artist Hong Sap fell in love with a pliers player. They have 7 children together. After his death, his ashes were burned with incense at the Artist Pagoda (Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City) – where more than 300 artists were laid to rest. Also because of poverty, her 4 children died at a young age due to lack of money for medical treatment. Feeling sorry for her grandson who soon lost his parents, she took him back to raise him, even though his body was still unfinished.

Now she only has 3 children – 2 girls and 1 boy. Her two daughters also work for other people, life is hard, so she doesn’t want to be bothered. The artist lives with his 62-year-old son and grandson. Her son is an amateur drummer, only working when he has a job.

She recounted: “My son is 62 years old this year but still has no wife. Because he is too poor, he still lives with his mother. When the troupe or stage needs people, he will perform. People borrowed money and didn’t pay. Currently, all the expenses in the house are earned by me alone. All three mouths eat porridge and eat vegetables.

When she was working in the Huynh Long singing group, her household registration was declared together with the troupe. When the group dissolved, her whole family suddenly became “homeless”. Even though her son is almost 60 years old, he has never seen a round birth certificate. “Living in this Saigon land for more than 80 years, but my son and I still have no papers, nor any relatives. Currently, we only have temporary residence permits.”she said.

Once known to many people, artist Hong Sap now lives in poverty in a run-down motel with a rent of 3 million VND/month. Every day, she prayed to God to pray to the Buddha to give her health to make films, go to perform to have money in and out of the fields and pay the rent.

“I have lived in this motel for 19 years, since the rent was only 500,000 VND/month. The house is small but 3 people live together. My grandson lives on the mezzanine, and my mother and I are on the ground. It’s hard to live, but I’m used to it.”, she choked. When the reporter asked to see her residence, the female artist shyly refused because she did not want to affect everyone around as well as the owner of the inn.

Asked about her wish at the age of 86, the female artist said while crying: “Many people say they want me to live to 90, 100 years old, but I don’t want to because the longer I live, the more miserable it becomes. Now I just hope that God loves me and lets me win the lottery to have a decent house. I’m not afraid of suffering but I only worry that when I die, who will pay the rent for my son. I just hope that from now on, I can have a house that I don’t have to live in rent.” she choked.

She devoted her whole life to art, until the end of her life, she still worried about old age, food and money, but the burning flame of the female artist’s love for the profession still did not go out.

“I’m still very passionate. Now whoever is filming says I’m leaving right away. Anyone who lacks a supporting role needs an old woman to play, I’m still willing to do my best. Old age but still has the blood of an artist. Every time I’m praised, I really like it.” she confided.