In 2000, in the short piece entitled “Hue Diary,” written when he returned for the first Hue Festival, musician Trinh Cong Son wrote, “When you have a place to return, or to visit from time to time, you are very fortunate. There, you have a river, a mountain, and you can find again your old friends whose hair used to be black has now turned grey. You might suddenly meet a Hue girl on the street and ask her, ‘Is there anything new in Hue now?’ And immediately, or perhaps by chance, she will recite the two lines from a poem by Bui Giang: “Da thua xu Hue bay gio/ Van con nui Ngu ben bo song Huong” (“Yes, sir, Hue now/ Still has Ngu Mount by the Huong river…”)

The sound of gongs echoing through the mountains, the graceful spins of Pa Co and Ta Oi (ethnic groups) dances, once thought to belong only to the memory of old festivals, are now alive again in A Luoi 2. Here, a Co Tu girl named A Rel Thuy Linh, along with local youth, continue to nurture their passion, bringing the heritage of their homeland to life with vibrant performances that immerse audiences in the atmosphere of a true festival.

Nestled at the foot of the majestic Truong Son mountain range, Doi village (Khe Tre commune) resembles a peaceful and lush green valley. There, a Co Tu girl quietly tells the story of her village day by day, with all the pride she holds for her ancestral culture.