A Small City, a World Stage
Small as it is, Macau has produced names of real weight in Chinese-language entertainment and music. Xian Xinghai was born on a fishing boat off Macau and went on to compose the Yellow River Cantata, earning the title "People's Musician"; became a Hong Kong diva of the 1970s–80s on the strength of her soaring voice; the Macanese ("Fat Mama") topped the charts as "Hong Kong's big lungs" before reinventing herself as a cooking-show host; went from 1988 Miss Hong Kong to the screen; and won Best Actress at a Portuguese film festival for Isabella.
