Local pop musicians GINNIE* and Alex Chan, multi-instrumentalist Ao Chon Fai and pop duo mImIfAfA told The Macau Post Daily last week about their busking experiences during the Chinese New Year.
The busking programme, launched by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) in 2016, allows certified artistes to perform in four designated areas – the Taipa-Houses Museum, Mount Fortress Garden, Barra Square in front of Ma Kok Temple, and Anim’Arte Nam Van.
The street performance programme aims to provide a platform for different acts and help develop Macau into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure by allowing street performers to entertain an audience legally, according to a previous IC statement.
During the “Strolling through Almeida Ribeiro – Pilot Scheme for a Pedestrian Area” from January 22 to January 24, the first three days of the Chinese New Year, the government set up a number of spots in Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro (aka “San Ma Lou” in Cantonese – “New Road”) for street entertainers to perform as well.
GINNIE said that she had joined the government’s busking programme in 2019. “Busking is a great experience for artistes. On the one hand, street performers enjoy more freedom to present their talent than in a concert or a gig, because they can choose their time and locations. On the other hand, compared to simply practising at home, the performers can also get used to interacting with the audience in street performances,” GINNIE said.
GINNIE also performed at Mong Kok East Station in Hong Kong last Saturday and was fascinated by the atmosphere there. From her experience, Hong Kong has more busking places, from MRT stations to plazas to the busy streets in Mong Kok, and Hongkongers are more active than Macau audiences. “Even in Macau when I was performing in Mount Fortress Garden recently, many Hong Kong tourists approached me and complimented me on my singing, which gave me the feeling that Hong Kong people appreciate music and the performer’s endeavour,” GINNIE added.
Meanwhile, duo mImIfAfA said that they started busking in 2017, but this was the first time they performed in “San Ma Lou”. “Perhaps the experience was not very special to tourists, but for us locals San Ma Lou is synonymous with traffic jams, and to wander and even perform in it is an amazing experience,” mImIfAfA said.
Besides interacting with audiences, mImIfAfA also met and learnt a lot from other buskers. “Many other experienced buskers easily adapted to the atmosphere and performed with ease. For us, we were constantly working out how to encourage people to stay. We kept paying attention to their expressions and frequently took song requests,” mImIfAfA said, adding that the challenge was that while their usual published recordings were the last take, a busking performance is always the first.
Nonetheless, mImIfAfA said that their busking performance in San Ma Lou only lasted 30 minutes, and the setting-up time was very short. Ao added that the weekly legal busking times is way too short. “We are only allowed to perform on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as well as public holidays, from 10 a.m. until the evening depending on the locations.”
All the performers said that they hoped the government could provide more resources and ease the restrictions on buskers. “We are not disturbing anyone to be honest. What we are trying to do is to share our music and contribute to the cultural side of the city,” Chan said.
*GINNIE is a reporter of The Macau Post Daily
GINNIE performs at Mong Kok East Station last Saturday. – Photo provided by GINNIE
Ao Chon Fai and Thomax Ho perform in San Ma Lou and Mount Fortress Garden during the Chinese New Year. – Photos provided by Ao
mImIfAfA performs in San Ma Lou during the “Strolling through Almeida Ribeiro – Pilot Scheme for a Pedestrian Area” – Photos provided by mImIfAfA
Alex Chan and GINNIE perform in Anim’Arte Nam Van last Sunday. –Photo: William Chan
