Talk «Ca dao xứ sở» (Folk Songs of the Homeland)

   Vietnamese courtship, betrothal and lifelong marriage were once negotiated in verse — and much of that verse is still in circulation. An evening in a restored 1950s apartment a few minutes' walk from Notre-Dame Cathedral gives you the chance to hear it read and unpacked rather than quoted at you.

   This is the opening session of a talk series on ca dao and dân ca, Vietnam's folk verse and folk song, run by Năm Năm Tháng Tháng with Tempo Nexus and led by Thạc sĩ Kiến Nam. Session one follows love and marital devotion through four stages: first stirrings of affection, promises and love tokens, the "red thread" of marriage with its wedding customs, and devotion sustained across the years.

   The series runs three sessions, each on a different theme rather than a repeat of the same evening:

• — Session 1: romantic love and marital devotion
• — Session 2: songs of labour and the love of life — 20 September 2026
• — Session 3: moral principles and righteous conduct — 18 October 2026

   It suits anyone reading their way into Vietnamese literature, researchers, literature students, and residents who want to understand the proverbs their neighbours quote. No preparation is expected.

   The room is part of the appeal. Tempo Nexus is a 40 m² library inside the Lê Ngọc apartment block, built around 1951–1961, converted by architecture studio k59 atelier and completed in 2025; patterned floor tiles and wrought-iron grilles were kept rather than replaced. It sits in phường Sài Gòn, the central ward of Ho Chi Minh City, a short walk from Pasteur's coffee strip.

   Forty square metres does not hold many chairs, so register early if you want a seat. Come for the verse, stay for the building.