MIND HAS STRANGE EXPERIENCES

Two days ago, came to my mind the name of a young lady who had a wonderful voice of a soprano, and who sang like an angel. Her name was Alicia Delbene –an Uruguayan singer.

I heard her in some recitals and singing Christian hymns at one church in Montevideo.

When I looked for her on the Internet, regretfully, I couldn't find any reference to her person. I felt surprised and disappointed. How is it possible that no one in Uruguay remembers one outstanding singer they had?

But as well as her name came suddenly to my mind, there have been occasions in which other names –really unknown to me— have suddenly come to my mind.

I asked myself who they could be, and then I went to the Internet to explore.

To my surprise they were real.

The first experience happened while I was working at the Voice of America.

One afternoon, came to my mind the name of someone I never heard before. I looked for it on the Internet and it belonged to a famous Spaniard General of the 19^th Century.

Regretfully I don’t remember the name of that General. When it came to my mind it was his complete name.

Surely many months later, another name came to my mind. It was Tasunga.

I looked on the Internet and found out that Tasunga belonged to an ethnic living in Colombia, surely with African ancestors.

I never read or heard about it before.

Until today I can’t find any reason why those names came to my mind.

And there is another experience, a little bit different.

For a long while I thought that the name Elvira Birabén, could be curious and special for the way it sounds: "vira” and “Bira”.

Once again I went to search on the Internet, and lo and behold! There was an Elvira Birabén in Perú.  At the moment she was a member of the parliament that was facing certain accusations.

As a speculation, I can think that maybe in those days her name was repeatedly mentioned in her country and the waves came to my mind.

I must clarify that her name didn't come within the news we were working on those days at VOA or mentioned by our correspondent in Peru.

Therefore, the mystery persists.

Why had those names come to my mind? But I wonder if you, my readers, don't have similar experiences.

The connection between minds is a fact. Even an involuntary one.

Now, about the name Birabén, years later I came to know that it exists in Uruguay –something I didn't know before—  and even I have some friends related to a family that bears that name.

I could add that sometimes when I have been working in the writing of a book, some ideas came to my mind about which I haven't think before. It's a wonderful experience!

 

Milton W. Hourcade