A Tribute to Phuong Thao

We've all heard of the difficult challenges Amerasians had to face in Vietnam during the years after the Fall of Saigon.  Being a minority in a homogeneous society would certainly not be without its challenges, especially in a country such as Vietnam in the years after an unpopular and lengthy war. Many Amerasians were shunned by society in Vietnam, left as orphans abandoned by both parents. But one Amerasian in particular, Phuong Thao, had defied the odds and rose to fame with her God-given talents as a Vietnamese pop singer.

I remember meeting Phuong Thao during my first trip back to Vietnam in the winter of 1991.  I was 19 years old at the time, in college and a volunteer worker for an organization called Amerasian Services that was based out of St. Anselm's Refugee Center here in Orange County, California.  After a few months into my volunteer work, I was asked by the director of Amerasian Services, Mary Payne Nguyen, to accompany her on a trip to Vietnam to assist Amerasians who were in waiting for their applications to be approved in order to come live in the United States under the Amerasian Homecoming Act.  During the months that some of these Amerasians were in waiting, they would be temporarily stationed at the Amerasian Transit Center located in the Dam Sen district of Ho Chi Minh City.  While there, on one sunny afternoon Phuong Thao pulled up on a motorcycle with bags full of clothes and presents that she brought with her to give to those Amerasians and their families at the Amerasian Transit Center.  Dressed in jeans and a Polo T-shirt, the only thing that set her aside from everyone else was a pair of sunglasses that she wore.  I had no idea she was a famous singer.  As everyone at the center flocked to crowd around her, I was a bit hesitant to say hello.  But when we were introduced to one another, she took off her glasses and gave me the friendliest smile.  That would mark the first time I met Phuong Thao.

During our conversation together, I found her to be very warm and humble.  I addressed her as chi, since I found out she is 5 years older than me.  As we talked, I couldn't help but to ask her why she hadn't submitted her application with the Amerasian Homecoming Act to come live in the United States.  Her answer to me was that she felt her life was quite settled in Vietnam.  Her singing career had just taken off.  She had just recently gotten married to a fellow who was a film actor in Vietnam.  Phuong Thao was well aware that although her singing career had strong potential in the overseas Vietnamese community, the same could not be said for husband's career should they decide to relocate and live in the States.  She made a lot of sense.  After all, it isn't easy to make it in show business in any country.  Phuong Thao had done so in her native Vietnam.  During the early 1990s, Phuong Thao was one of the brightest young talents in the music industry of Vietnam.  I guess you could say that she had reached diva status back then in Vietnam, since her immense popularity had placed her in the ranks of such iconic superstars at the time like Cam Van and Bao Yen.  Given her level of success, I can understand why she wouldn't want to have to start all over again in a foreign country.

That night I went to go watch her sing at the Rex Hotel in Saigon.  I went backstage to say hi.  There just wasn't enough time for her to talk much with me then.  You see, singers in Vietnam have to perform at 5 or 6 different places nightly.  The Rex Hotel was only Phuong Thao's second stop with 4 more to go to on her nightly performing schedule.  Nevertheless, she was happy to see me.  And I was happy to be able to see how the singers of Vietnam worked on a daily basis.  It truly is a whole different world.

Ngoc Le and Phuong Thao

The next time I would see Phuong Thao was in 1998 when I traveled back again to Vietnam.  By this time, I had heard she had gotten remarried to a musician named Ngoc Le.  I went to watch her perform at the Lan Anh music venue where the crowd went wild as she sang her big hit written by her husband, Cafe Mot Minh.  I didn't get a chance to talk with her this time around.  But I was very happy to see that things seemed to be going alright for her.

Phuong Thao and Ngoc Le
together with their two children

In recent years, I had heard that she had been reunited with her American father and has since moved to the United States.  With the exception of an appearance on video for Asia Productions, Phuong Thao has not really participated much in the overseas Vietnamese entertainment industry.  I don't know why, since the last time I heard her sing live at a benefit show for the disabled put together by my friend, Thanh Le, in 2013, she sounded and looked great.  To me, it didn't seem as if she had lost her touch one bit/  That is why I'm puzzled as to why her career hasn't continued to flourish upon her resettling here in the States.

Despite how Phuong Thao's performances have been rather seldom in recent years, I'll always look onto her as a pioneer for Amerasian singers.  The fact that she, as an Amerasian, was able to defy the odds and make it in Vietnam to become one of the most popular singers there is astounding.  Phuong Thao has been a hero to all Amerasians, especially to Amerasian performers like myself.