Pan Xiong and Bee Lo

Both Pang Xiong and Bee Lo were highly skilled as young singers in Laos. When Bee Lo was young, girls often caught him after school and asked him to sing a song. He was especially adept with sad songs of orphans and lost love and always felt bad when his singing made his young admirers cry.

Yet, the powerful and soulful voices of these singers are rarely heard again after marriage, except to teach their daughters when courtship age approaches. In Laos, married women rarely sing anymore, content to help their daughters compose new and even more beautiful poetry for their "coming out" courtship singing.
But in America, the struggle to maintain Hmong identity and culture lives on in the efforts of Hmong people, encouraging skilled singers to continue to sing no matter what their age. People like Pang Xiong Sirirathasuk and T-Bee Lo work hard in their communities to teach the young people about their language, their art forms, and the stories of their people.

For years, Pang has opened her home in Upper Darby to children and adults interested in learning the styles and symbols of the Hmong needlework, the intricacies of Hmong silversmithing, or the finesse of kwv txhiaj. Together with Bee Lo the two have facilitated apprenticeships, classes, and public programs that share their culture with others.

© 2001 On Tour Productions