Street Style Propaganda Part 3: Apec Meeting

The Apec Summit is returning to Ho Chi Minh City in the next few days (11-18 November) and, like bugs from the woodwork, out come the billboards advertising the Trade Fair. Here's an interesting debate regarding the Canon billboards up in Hanoi in preparation for the meeting in the capital.

The billboards are mostly an eyesore and the Summit has a number of side-effects - for example, getting a visa or extending a current one for the period before the Apec meeting and the duration thereof is basically impossible unless you're a diplomat. Also, streets are cordoned off, nightclubs and restaurants are on a strict curfew (I remember the previous meeting where it was nigh impossible to find a club open after 12 as the owners feared police crackdowns and retribution). Hopefully, the meeting will just get over and done with and life will return to semi-sanity.

Street Style Propaganda Part 2: Independence

These are some of the billboards, banners and murals relating to Vietnam's independence from France in 1949 and also the "reunification" of North and South Vietnam in 1976. As can be expected, freedom fighting, soldiers and doves dominate.

Street Style Propaganda Part 1: Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho, after whom Ho Chi Minh City was named (previously Saigon), has been dead for a number of years and his legacy still lives on - on the dirty walls, in the beautiful parks and on larger-than life billboards around the city. His strong paternal instinct is often one of the most depicted subjects, showing him with the children of Saigon and the five rules he gave them by which they should live their live: They stuck them up on the walls (and still do in most schools) and the children had to recite them daily. Be honest, be modest, and be brave. They also concerned conduct towards your elders, parents, teachers and each other. Also, always take care of personal hygiene. I'm sure they were put more eloquently but that's basically what it comes down to.