Tuva.Asia / The New Research of Tuva

Throat singer Kongar-ool Ondar from Tuva, the tiny region of Siberia just outside of Outer Mongolia, was supposed to have been singing out in three-part harmony — by himself — atop a horse equipped with a stereo amplifier in Tuesday's Rose Parade. The sound equipment was designed to prevent a repeat of his first appearance in 1993, when Ondar, singing without amplification, couldn't be heard over the din of the crowd. Unfortunately, for reasons not immediately clear, Ondar was silent as he and two bare-chested dancers dubbed Flying Eagles of Tuva exchanged waves and smiles with fans shortly after the start of the parade on the KTLA-TV (Channel 5) broadcast. It was a sad, silent echo of what happened two decades ago, when the throat-singing horsemen weredrowned out during the 1993 Rose Parade by a high school band. Just before this year's parade, Ondar spokesman Ralph Leighton told The Times that "this time, Ondar will be microphoned so that fans along the parade route can hear him singing multiple notes simultaneously."