Benevolent buskers stopped by police

A band of Peruvian musicians livening up Republic Street, Valletta with their music is being repeatedly stopped by the police to the dismay of locals and tourists pausing to enjoy their beautiful melodies.

The band, in Malta through the YMCA, plays in Republic Street four times a week in a philanthropic initiative, forming part of a project being carried out between the YMCA and the Association Cultural Sayary of Arequipa.

The Valletta police said when contacted that they could not give any information and said questions should be directed to the Community and Media Relations Office, which said when asked that the matter could only be checked in the morning and a fax with questions would be required.

The Association Cultural Sayary is a kind of school which gathers young people from the poorest and remotest areas of Peru to provide them and their parents with cultural education.

The band's musicians, who vary from year to year, teach at the school.

The association was discovered by the late Nicky Sultana when he was carrying out voluntary work in Peru in 1998. He immediately had an idea to carry out a project of collaboration between the YMCA and the school and every year since, a band of musicians from the school have been brought over by the YMCA.

The band gets an experience of life in a different country and the donations they are given are used primarily to cover their travel costs.

The rest of the money they make is divided equally between the YMCA and the school.

YMCA director Jean Paul Mifsud said the band have this year been stopped by the police four to five times. Although no permit is required for busking, the band still has permission to play by the council and its members have a work permit as they are in Malta as YMCA volunteers.

The band stops playing as soon as the police asks it to stop. It has been given a variety of reasons for being stopped, including that complaints were being received from various people and that it was annoying people at the law courts.

Sayary, as the band is called, is currently made up of six musicians - Marx, Norasco, Julio, Daniel, Christian and Jorje who each play a variety of instruments. Their instruments include panpipes, flutes, cheranaga, electric guitar, electric bass, drums and bongos.

This year's band arrived in Malta on June 17 and will be staying on until after the New Year.

It is the YMCA's intention to have some female blood in next year's band.

Mr Mifsud said the Sayary musicians were also available to play in private functions, and they could be booked through the YMCA, tel. 2124 0680.

Mr Mifsud also called on companies and the public to donate food for the upkeep of the band and the YMCA's shelter for the homeless since supplies were running very low.