By Anoush Torosyan

One can see Francisco Maldonado Guachkhan, a 50-year-old street musician from Ecuador plying his trade in the streets of Yerevan.

Dressed in an ornate head dress and playing the traditional pipes of the indigenous Inca people, Francisco gets his shares of stares from interested passersby. Some stop and watch, while others approach to ask questions.

He finds Armenians to be warm and welcoming. The local police are another matter. When convenient, cops like to follow the letter of the law, and seem incapable of flexible interpretations of the law based on specific circumstances.

Police have demanded that Francisco obtain a permit, in advance, for all his performances.

"I come from Otavalo. Each of us has his own way of trying to preserve the culture. I like travelling from one country to another and meeting people. It is interesting to get to know new nations, new cultures, to make new acquaintances. I like it when people smile, when they get interested in my music," says Francisco, who’s a dual citizen of Spain and Ecuador.

Francisco plays traditional music that comes from his ancestors: meditative, soothing melodies of nature, united by love. The musician says that one needs to deeply experience and comprehend those seemingly simple melodies.

"You should listen to the music with closed eyes, to imagine it, to let the music take you away, otherwise you won’t feel it. If you just stand and play the instrument, you won’t have many people listening to you. I don’t write melodies, but I try to bring rhythms into them, and to convey warmth," Francisco explains. 

Music became a way of life for Francisco ten years ago.  While working his land one day, he realized that the borders of his land were too restricted for his music. He put aside his shovel, got into his car, and went away to find new outlets for his melodies. Travelling to different countries to play without financial resources is neither an adventure nor romanticism for him – it’s a mission which he fulfills with pleasure.

“I really like Armenia. I would just like for the police to allow me to sing. It’s the only country where we face difficulties. They don’t allow us to use speakers. We don’t harm anyone. Neither do we ask for money. Those that want to can,” Francisco explains. Despite these problems, Francisco visits Armenia once or twice a year.

Hetq wrote to the police, asking clarification as to why they were banning the musician from playing outside. We wanted to find out what kind of documents were required to obtain a permit, whether the problem was related to time or place, and, if so, where and when could Francisco and his friends play. We also asked whether the police regarded their playing as problematic from a safety aspect.

Here’s what we received from the police as a reply:

"Please be informed that a group of Ecuadorian citizens has regularly organized musical performances in Yerevan's Kentron district within the past two years. They’ve used technical equipment for this: speakers, audio amplifiers and so on. These performances have been public events by their nature, and taking into account the use of technical equipment, police officers directed the organizers to inform the mayor about the conduct of public events, in accordance with the Law on the Local Self-Government of Yerevan City. In particular, the notification process is regulated by the Article 56.1 of the Law."

The law defines what a public event is, saying that event organizers must inform the mayor’s office "if the event is expected to have more than three hundred participants." Otherwise, no notification is required, but "the public event organizer may inform the mayor’s office about it to ensure public security and a normal course of events”.

Francisco’s usual spot, near the Vernissage market in downtown Yerevan, has no shortage of "spectators", but their number does not exceed ten or twenty people.

Thus, one would assume that Francisco shouldn’t have to inform the mayor’s office in advance.