It was a rare opportunity to catch them in action – the Getai singers were performing with tunes from yesteryear to entertain an audience of mostly middle-aged and older folks celebrating Chinese New Year.
In the past, Getai singers were generally older. These days, they have become younger. It seems to be the trend for young girls to take to the Getai (’song stage’ in Chinese) during special occasions in recent years. They include students moonlighting for extra cash after school with permission from their parents.
They are a legacy worth preserving, not only for the nostalgic feeling their presence evoke, but for the fact that some of them do have vocal talent and deserve to be appreciated. Kitsch? Not all of them, especially when they are just trying to earn a decent living with the vocal talents they have.
Superstitious practices? That is another story.
2 responses so far ↓
erni // March 1, 2008 at 1:40 am |
hey i saw your vidz for my office,
http://www.revver.com/video/595262/parkview-square-singapore/
just wanna say thumbs up.
my company will be leaving this place for another next week coz the rent went up 4x and its too much.
i hope you will keep this vid online for as long as possible for ppl like me to see coz i really do love this place so much.
i wonder if you could be so kind as to send me a copy of the video which i assume is highly unlikely to happen.
i’ll appreciate it alot. thanks and keep blogging!
wandertales // March 1, 2008 at 3:06 am |
Erni, I am glad the video made you happy. I will keep it online for as long as I can.