FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A Fresno mariachi has been able to overcome the significant setback of his equipment being stolen thanks to community support, support which Osmar Villa says will keep his passion for mariachi alive. Villa says on March 11, at around 4:30 a.m., his father woke him up to tell him all of his equipment had been stolen. "It was like a gunshot to the heart," Villa said. "To imagine that there's evil like that in the world - it's heartbreaking." According to Villa, he and his father rushed out of the house to find his car's front door and trunk wide open with all of his things gone. When they checked their home's security cameras, Villa and his father saw that their security system had inexplicably gone dark during the robbery. But at that moment, Villa says his luck already started to turn. "Luckily I have caring neighbors across the way that showed us their cameras," Osmar said. "Right at 4:40 when our cameras cut off that's when [the suspects] start stealing." If it weren't for his neighbors, Osmar says he wouldn't have a clear picture of the robbery. "What can I do now?" Villa said. "All I can do from it is move forward. Learn from it and move forward and just forgive the people that did it because I don't what state they're in." Villa says, though he was heartbroken, his goal following the robbery was to move past it. He started a GoFundMe asking the community for help - and the community did just that. "I honestly didn't expect the amount of help that I received," Villa said. "I only asked for $2,000 for at least some of the things I tried to recover - I would wake up to a bigger amount [donated] every single time. It's just really amazing." Osmar says he can remember the exact day he started his journey as a mariachi. Having help from the community he's strived to serve for the past four years has inspired him to keep at it wholeheartedly. "My singing career started May 15, 2021," Villa said. "From there on, people started asking, 'Hey can you sing for my wedding? Can you sing for my quinceañera?' That's how I started growing little by little." Villa says the community's support is evidence that every performance has moved everyone just as much as he was moved when he first listened to mariachi music. He says he appreciates the support and it's inspired him to keep his head up high and put his recent setback behind him. "It makes me really happy to see that there's still good in the world," Villa said. "We have to make sure that that's what we see - that's what makes the world go round." ...read more read less