Theft of Siberian instruments draws mayor's attention
May 16, 2011
Albuquerque's mayor is getting involved in the theft of several wooden instruments because of how the crime impacts the city's image to foreigners. A Siberian musical group spent the past two months on tour all across the United States and Europe, but it only took one night in Albuquerque to have all of their instruments stolen – and their hopes of getting back home put in jeopardy. The Tuvan ensemble Alash is known across the world for its one-of-a-kind sound of throat singers. Now those voices were all that carried them through a performance at Albuquerque's Civic Plaza because their homemade instruments are in the hands of a thief. "Literally, it is our livelihood, and this is how we feed our families," said the group's manager and translator Sean Quirk. The group came all the way from Tuva – in southern Siberia – to perform at the Festival of Asian Cultures in Albuquerque. Sometime Saturday night at a Motel 6 off I-25 and Avenida Cesar Chavez a thief broke into their van and stole seven string instruments and their backpacks which had their passports inside. "Now we're in a situation where we have a band with no instruments and so our situation has become very complex," said Quirk. The singers faces Sunday showed the heartache and uncertainty they now face. They are supposed to go home on June 1, but getting the passports replaced may force them to stay longer. Donations were collected for the group at the event Sunday. Albuquerque mayor Richard Berry met with the musicians, hoping to ease their pain by assuring them that they have the best of the police department's resources looking into the case. "Mayor Berry has committed APD's resources to get to the bottom of this," said city spokesman Chris Ramirez. "This is absolutely unacceptable, and quite frankly, a black eye on Albuquerque." The wooden instruments would be worth nothing to a local pawn or music shop, but the musicians consider them to be priceless because they are handmade and difficult to find.
