Helado Negro was in the midst of a free mini west coast tour when his belongings were stolen. During his crew’s stop in San Francisco’s Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, someone broke into their car and stripped them of nearly all their belonging, presumably all the gear they need to make live renditions of This Is How You Smile possible.
Disappointed, the singer took to Twitter to let everyone know what happened, adding, “I hope all that stuff makes whoever stole it happy.”
Not even 24 hours later, the items were apparently conveniently returned at will. When someone asked how he found them, he attributed it to sheer luck. Sadly, this isn’t the first time this happens to the Ecuadorian-American indie dream-pop artist.
Two years ago, someone stole all of Helado Negro’s clothing from his van in Seattle ahead of a conversation with Downtown Boys’ Victoria Ruiz for Remezcla. “Whenever I’m doing anything, I want to be the happiest [I can be]. I know that might [sound] selfish,” he told her in 2017. “But, I know that if I’m the happiest, then I know that what I give out to people in that space will be the best that I could put out there.”
In the last few months, there’s been an upsetting number of Latinx artists robbed on tour. Most notably, Karol G and Anuel AA, who had some of their belongings taken from their hotel room in Chile; Café Tacvba, who had gear stolen from them on a highway in Mexico; and Daddy Yankee, who was robbed of upwards of $2 million worth of safe-stored jewelry in Spain just earlier this month.
Here’s hoping that the person responsible for Helado Negro’s possessions is contrite and that this is the last of incidents like this. Artists who are consistently creating safe, creative spaces for our communities and looking for ways we can help one another through art – and doing so generously, nonetheless – deserve to feel secure rather than worry-ridden as they move about towns. Luckily, this case turned out OK.
Less of this:
More of this:
Happy International Dog Day, amigis.