The history of musical instruments stolen from Tuvan ethno-group "Alash" has not died down after their departure from the USA. The police of Albuquerque (New Mexico) offered a reward of $1000 for any information about the perpetrators and the stolen items. Today, the vice-mayor of the city, Tito Madrid notified about it the producer of the group, Sean Quirk and the Ministry of Culture of Tuva. Mr. Madrid offered apologies in the name of the mayor of Albuquerque and expressed confidence that with the help of the citizens, who are no less incensed about the incident, the stolen items will be found and returned to their owners.
This misadventure happened in the final stages of the "Alash" tour in America in the framework of a festival of Eastern culture in May. The instruments were stolen at night from their rental vehicle parked by the motel. Together with the instruments, the miscreants also took some of the musicians' luggage with their concert costumes and personal documents. "This was a terrible shock to the musicians. All the instruments were hand-made, quite rare and valuable. It is their livelihood, they feed their families with them", - as Sean Quirk informed journalists.
The robbery generated a big public resonance. The mayor of Albuquerque, Richard Berry, met with the musicians personally, and promised that the authorities will do everything possible to find the perpetrators. "This incident is absolutely unacceptable, it is a great spot on the face of our city," - as the mayor said, by Sean's information.
Sean Quirk, a USA native who came to Tuva 7 years ago to reside on a permanent basis and who has been organizing "Alash" tours abroad, is also very upset about the honor of his compatriots, and hopes that this ugly story will have a happy end and the group will start working again. More so, because this summer he, who learned Tuvan throat-singing, together with the group were planning a solo concert and tours to make money to build his house. So far, Sean and his wife, three children and mother-in-law have been living in rental apartments, and only now, when the republic authorities decided to allocate a real estate near Kyzyl to him, has he decided to build his own house.
During the period of the construction, his large family has been living in a yurt on the assigned land. Sean, who considers himself a "real Tuvan", likes it - b ut only as a summer home. But by wintertime, which normally involves 45 degree centigrade cold, he would prefer to have something more comfortable and warm for his women and children.
In order to counteract the unpleasant residue of the unfortunate incident in Albuquerque, Sean and his friends from "Alash" intend to repeat the USA tour, including the New Mexico city. "We understand very well that something like this can happen anywhere, and the good name of Albuquerque should not suffer from this," - as the musicians decided diplomatically. As one of potential occasions for new concerts in America, Sean is considering the possibility of participation of the Tuvan ethno-group in a congress of American Indian nationalities of New Mexico, which should take place next year.