Seis Grados de Separación – Six Degrees of Separation

 

There is a theory that you are only 6 people (seis personas) away from knowing anyone in the world, and this theory is often called the six degrees of separation. The idea is that you can find a connection between any 2 people at any time anywhere in a maximum (un máximo) of 6 steps, moving from friends, colleagues, relatives to others who have crossed your path, and thereby come to the sixth person at any other specific individual you identify in the world. The factor of separation had been promoted as six, and I have also heard that there is a game (un juego) where the challenge is to find, within the allotted six moves from person to person, from oneself to the ultimate social marker (el ultimo indicador), Kevin Bacon.

I also believe (también creo) that the more you travel around the world, to other countries and even within your own nation, this factor (este factor) seems to lessen, as I believe, the more you get around, the more connected you in fact (de hecho) become. In the age of the Internet, you can also become connected to people that you have never (nunca) physically encountered, that you have never really met in a human sense, and this type of interaction happens with greater regularity today due to social networking (las redes sociales) sites such as Facebook and MySpace. In this modern day and age (la edad) of computer connectivity, the links between people and spaces appears to have decreased, and again, the more available you are, the more connected to others you become.

Recently, I had an experience that verified this fact, at least to me, as I was reading in the paper a month or so ago, that the US band (la banda norteamericana), REM was coming to Santiago to vie 2 nights of concerts in November. I am a fan of REM and have seen the band a number of times (muchas veces) over the past 20 years, first in small clubs and later in large arenas, and the chance to see such an accomplished group in Santiago certainly appealed to me. On one of the 2 nights, REM was being joined by a top new band, the Mars Volta, who was opening up for REM and the roots (las raíces) of the band, as well as some of the members, hail from El Paso, Texas, and the city I currently call home. Interestingly, one of the band members has a father who is a colleague of mine at the university, a person I often interact with in meetings (las reuniones) and classes, as well as see regularly at the gymnasium.

Anyway, I thought that I might contact my colleague and see if he might be able to help (ayudar) a couple of displaced El Pasoans living in South America to see a great concert in Santiago as guests (los invitados) of the band. Through emails only, we corresponded and after talking with his son (su hijo), he put me in touch with the band’s tour manager. Over more email, we exchanged information until I received the best news (buenas noticias) of all, that there would be 2 passes for me waiting at the box office, and in effect, I would have VIP access to the show (el concierto). This really did happen, and last night, we got to see the Kaiser Chiefs, Mars Volta and REM tear it up at Moviestar arena in Santiago, and the music (la música) was great and the evening a lot of fun.

I am indebted to my friend, his son, the tour manager and the idea of this as well you see, that in reality (en realidad), this plan was born as a vision that became a reality, truly a dream (un sueño) come true, not unlike my selection as a Fulbright US scholar and my subsequent 5 month experience in Chile. My only question that remains in this chain of events (esta cadena de eventos) is the ultimate connection that links me to Kevin Bacon.