When they watch the show, they remember their country," Tan Viet Tran ("ton viet chun"), who lives in Falls Church and runs the Vietnamese-language weekly newspaper Doi Nay (Today's Life), says in Vietnamese.īang Nguyen, a mechanic from Lancaster, Pa., made sure to stop by Washington Video during a recent trip to Eden. "They hear the songs that people knew from the time they were in Vietnam. Thuy Nga's To estimates she sells about 30,000 tapes worldwide of each show but, thanks to the wonders of home dubbing, figures her audience in the millions. He keeps at least 50 copies of older tapes. Tran's customers had been asking for the latest "Paris by Night" tapes, which run about $30, weeks before they were released. Tour buses full of Vietnamese from Canada and the East Coast regularly stop by for shopping and dinner. Everything is printed in Vietnamese, from store signs hawking discount diamonds to menus taped to restaurant windows. His store is one of four Vietnamese video outlets in the Eden Center strip mall in Falls Church, and they all sell "Paris by Night." Eden is the water cooler for the Washington area's more than 45,000 Vietnamese, who go there for a cup of cafe sua da, Vietnamese iced coffee. Thuan Tran ("twun chun"), owner of Washington Video Productions in Falls Church, stocked about 600 copies of the latest "Paris by Night" and sold out in two weeks. "We represent the voice of the Vietnamese outside Vietnam," says Marie To (pronounced "toe"), head of Thuy Nga Productions of Los Angeles, which stages the live shows around the world and produces the videos of them. All shows are in Vietnamese, and almost everyone on the show and in the audience is Vietnamese. The videos feature outrageous outfits, choreographed dancing and witty repartee between emcees - like Sonny and Cher with an ethnic twist. These taped variety shows are a staple of Vietnamese immigrant culture, right along with karaoke and rice cookers. After almost two decades, the videos' popularity has never really sagged. Think of the video series as the Madonna of the Vietnamese entertainment industry. Mention "Paris by Night" to most any of the customers, and they'll grin in recognition. Precariously perched on the top corner of one of those shelves is the latest "Paris by Night," the granddaddy of Vietnamese variety videos. The place is brimming with videos of Vietnamese singers and performers - tapes are stacked on top, alongside and to the edge of the shelves. At the tiny video and music store in Falls Church, the customers, all Vietnamese, squeeze past one another, sucking in their guts, on their way to the checkout counter. There's barely room to breathe inside Washington Video Productions on a recent Sunday afternoon.
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