At 6:00 p.m., the invitation from the lottery troupe (a street busker and lucky draw) of Nini An (39 years old, living in Tan An City, Long An) echoed through many streets of the city. Under the large grass field, plastic chairs are arranged in a row, several booths for shooting, throwing animals, throwing cans… are prepared to welcome thousands of people to have fun on the weekend.
The main stage of the lotto troupe is a layer of laminated wooden floor, covered with fabric. That is both the place where the show takes place and the place where more than ten “cool” women dress up, eat, and sleep. Playing the role of troupe leader as well as the main actor of the troupe, Nini An always tries to take care of her gorgeous appearance. Besides singing and dancing, every day guests spend money and ask for fire dancing, chewing glass… An also agreed.
Therefore, for the past 20 years, in the West, Nini An has been called “Queen of Lotto”. For An, it has been a lifelong dream, ever since he was little Nguyen Phuc An, to fulfill his late mother’s will. An is still raising a child who was abandoned when he was just 1 day old.
With beautiful appearance and many talents, Nini An is nicknamed “Lottery Queen” (Photo: NVCC).
Her love affair with the guy selling lottery tickets
Since childhood, Nguyen Phuc An (Nini An’s real name) was not like other boys his age. Every day, when Mrs. Muoi (An’s mother) went to the fields, he secretly took her mother’s shirt to wear and danced and sang for the children in the neighborhood to see.
Just like that, one time Mrs. Muoi went out on the street and heard the sound of lead wicks from her neighbors: “Mrs. In return for the blame, the country mother always tries her best to protect her child.
In the past, Southern lottery troupes often drifted “here and there” to perform and sing. One time the group stopped in An’s small hamlet, Mrs. Muoi took her children to see it. The first time he saw the sisters wearing colorful clothes, dancing under the red and blue lights, Phuc An’s heart was filled with indescribable emotions.
Since childhood, Phuc An wanted to have long hair and wear girls’ clothes (Photo: NVCC).
A few years later, he changed his name to Nini An, left home to follow the lotto cart, and lived an adventurous life with his sisters.
Every time the group visited Long An, Nini An would come home, curl up in her mother’s arms and sleep soundly. Every night like that, Mrs. Muoi stays awake. She stroked her daughter’s hair, held her long slender hands and burst into tears: “Mom, try your best, give me money so I can be a real girl!”. After hearing this, An and her mother hugged each other and cried non-stop.
For many years, Mr. Cong has always accompanied and helped his wife realize her dream (Photo: NVCC).
In the lottery industry, Nini An quickly became a famous name because of her impressive appearance and talent. Every night the troupe performed on stage, there was a guy named Chau Chi Cong (31 years old) below, standing blankly looking at An.
At first, Cong expressed his sympathy but An ignored him. Only later, when she saw her hard-working personality and sincere concern for herself when living away from home, did she agree to accept his love.
Up to now, Nini An and his wife have been together for nearly 20 years. They didn’t have a single wedding, big or small, and were still “traveling here and there” in the lottery business. Every day, Cong works hard to collect enough money to help An “become a real girl”.
“In 2012, I went alone to Thailand for surgery. When he saw me in female form on the phone, my husband choked up and cried with happiness,” Nini An said.
The abandoned baby was only 1 day old
For many years together, Cong always wished that they would have children together. Every night, looking at him happily holding the children and coaxing them to play bingo, An felt more longing and sad. Because I know that forever is impossible!
Countless times An tried to kick Cong out of the house so he could find a perfect home and a peaceful family. Yet every time, he still came back a few days later. Cong promised to stay by An’s side and take care of An for the rest of his life.
After that, the couple began to save money and apply to adopt children from social welfare institutes.
Listening to her mother, Nini An adopted the abandoned child in the hospital (Photo: NVCC).
When An’s mother fell seriously ill in the hospital and heard that a baby girl born less than 5 hours ago had been abandoned, she suddenly called An into the room and demanded: “You have to adopt her.”
A few days later, Mrs. Muoi passed away forever, and the grandchild she asked her to adopt did not get to see her once. From then on, An decided to name her child Nhu Y, which means fulfilling her mother’s wish.
At the age of 4, Nhu Y went with An to many lotto markets. Every night my mother performed, Italy would linger under the stage. Many detractors say that Y is not An’s child.
So Y felt sad, hugged An’s mother and cried. After that day, An chose to tell the truth to her child, so that Italy could learn how to face it. She patiently explained to her child that she could not give birth to Italy in her womb but raised Italy from sincere motherly love.
As the little girl grew older, the neighbors rumored that Italy’s mother was transgender, implying “favorite”. Italy listened but kept silent. Only once during a conversation with her cousin, when she was teased, Y burst out and protested: “Don’t call me “pê de”! I don’t love Y anymore.”
Listening to her son’s words, An’s eyes filled with tears.
“From a very young age, Italy knew how to protect her mother. Later, when Italy learned and accepted that I was transgender, she loved me even more. So as long as someone calls me “pê de”, Italy always stands up to protect her mother,” An said.
Nhu Y objected: “Don’t call your mother “pê de” to protect the mother born from her love (Photo: NVCC).
A piece of happiness in a small lotto bag
In 2018, An’s body began to necrosis, many patches of skin became ulcerated due to cheap silicon injections. Faced with a life-threatening risk, An had to choose to have her entire chest removed. During a month in the hospital, she prayed that she would live to return to Italy.
In 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic caused the lotto group to close. Nini An and her husband have to maintain a living with various jobs such as selling online, selling fruit on the street, fried fish balls… Every time she looks at her flat chest, she feels self-conscious because she can no longer be a woman.
Later, when Cong saved enough money, he once again helped his wife realize her dream of skin grafting and creating new breasts. In June 2023, An and his wife reopened the lottery group in Tan An City (Long An) to have a place for the “pede” women to work permanently.
Currently, Nini An’s family lives on lottery tickets in Tan An City (Long An).
From that point on, An and her husband stayed off stage to take care of the group. Every day after school, Nhu Y goes out to help her mother collect ticket money. The whole family spent peaceful days together at the busking troupe.
“Now, in addition to singing, my lotto troupe also acts in plays, opera performances, circus performances… What I do is do it grandly, satisfying all my lifelong passions. With customers’ love and support, the performances are crowded. Now I just hope to have enough health and finances to take care of Italy and my sisters and live as themselves,” Nini An said.
At 0:00, the last lotto rounds ended. After changing their clothes and removing their makeup, the whole lotto group gathered on the stage and quickly ate a pot of rice that had cooled a long time ago.
Life as a “pede” is hard, difficult, and embarrassing, but for Nini An, a day of remaining in the group will always be a happy day.
The large number of visitors every night helps maintain the lives of many transgender people at the lotto group (Photo: NVCC).
