Two Brothers Discover They Share Long-Lost Twin In Surreal ‘Switched At Birth’ Tale

By: Riley Brown | Last updated: Sep 26, 2023

The science behind the conception of twins has always been quite fascinating. Nonetheless, before we get into it, you must know that there are two types of twins. The most popular bunch is identical twins who are conceived after an ovum is split after conception.

On the other side of the looking glass, we have fraternal twins conceived after fertilizing two eggs with separate sperm. The result is twins who don’t look alike. Contrary to popular belief, fraternal twins are more common than identical twins.

Closer to Fiction Than Reality

Growing up, movies like the parent trap showed us the potential of having twins and what they could lead to. In this movie, the kids were separated and switched places without their parents knowing. It was a funny premise that made the movie a darling among many fans.

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Source: NYTimes / Youtube

As fictional as the story is, cases of estranged twins are pretty standard. This mostly happens when parents decide to give up their children for adoption due to one reason or another. The 1988 blockbuster Big Business highlights one of these scenarios pretty well.

Some Call It a Coincidence

In the movie, the set of twins was switched at birth and sent to the wrong household, only to meet their doppelgangers later in life. It was a funny movie with us making light of a very creepy scenario. Surprisingly, the same year it was released, a similar situation was happening in Bogota, Columbia.

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Source: NYTimes / Youtube

The Velasco Twins lived in Santander and worked with their parents on the family farm. Unfortunately, William and Wilber were forced to leave school at 12 years old because the family could not afford the expenses.

The Importance of Education

Dropping out of school harmed William as he could not upgrade his status in the army thanks to his illiteracy. He had been offered a full-ride scholarship for petty officer training, but William was ineligible without a high school diploma.

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Source: NYTimes / Youtube

It was a significant setback, but our man didn’t quit; William picked himself up and finished his military service before moving to Bogota with his brother Wilber. This move began a new chapter in the twins’ lives that no one would have anticipated.

A New Life in the City

While in Bogota, William took a job at a butcher shop and became the manager sooner than later. He wasn’t the only employee from the family at the shop, as his brother Wilber and his cousin Brian worked alongside him.

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Source: NYTimes / Youtube

After the military SNAFU, the clouds were clearing for the family, and it was only a matter of time before things got better. Regardless, Brian’s actions were about to lead to an exciting discovery that would influence the twins’ lives.

The Other Side of the Map

In 1988, the Castro Twins were born in Bogota to a family of two. The boys had an elder sister and a hardworking mother. Sadly, money was tight, forcing the quadruple to squeeze in a single-bedroom house owned by their grandmother.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

Interestingly, these circumstances never dampened the mood, and the boys loved their childhood. Luck was on their side, as unlike the Velasco twins, they lived close to good schools allowing them to finish their education. This situation played a significant role in how their lives turned out.

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Smarter Than the Rest

As adults, the twins followed in their mother’s footsteps and worked exceptionally hard to make ends meet. Jorge Castro was an engineer who designed oil transport pipes, while Carlos was an accountant.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

Additionally, the boys took college courses to further their education while maintaining a two-bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood. The difference between the two camps is as clear as night and day, and it seemed like everything was in the Castros’ favor. Sadly, it was not all roses for the boys as tragedy struck.

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A Sad State of Affairs

As much as life was finally looking up, the twins were still reeling from the loss of their mother a few years ago. So it was a big disappointment for the siblings that they could not share their spoils with the most essential person in their lives.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

The siblings had always dreamt of providing for their mother by getting her a better home than they had grown up in. So it was unfortunate that she had to be taken away from them so soon.

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

All this while, the twins’ had not come in contact, nor had they felt like something was missing. Their respective families had been relatively wholesome, so there was never a feeling of lack.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

Even so, fate had other plans for both families as a series of exciting events allowed them to meet. Once that happened, the revelation would have the brothers, and their families stumped. Had it not been for modern technology, this would have been written off as a fable.

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A Series of Fortunate Events

One fine day William’s cousin’s girlfriend_ Janeth_ paid the butcher shop a visit with a companion in tow. The lady had come to pick up some ribs for a BBQ party. Surprisingly, Janeth’s friend recognized William as her colleague, which couldn’t have been the case.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

Janeth’s friend was surprised her colleague was working at the Butchery and even asked why William acted like she was a stranger. Janeth quickly pointed out that this was William and not Jorge from her office since she was well acquainted with the butcher.

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A Little Too Familiar

This encounter never left Janeth’s mind, and a few months later, she got a job transfer with her, working alongside Jorge Castro. Again, the lady was taken aback by the uncanny similarities between her colleague and William.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

Janeth shows Jorge’s picture to William, and immediately he sees the photo; he finds it funny but thinks nothing of it. William even goes as far as showing his doppelganger to his co-workers, who also find the situation amusing, but no one thinks much of it.

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Still at the Back of Her Mind

A year after the uncanny image was brought to William’s attention, Janeth was still convinced that there was more afoot. First, however, she needed to decide if she should approach Jorge about his twin stranger. Eventually, she caved in and brought the matter to Jorge, and he was impressed.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

Jorge couldn’t believe that he was looking at someone else. He was so similar to William, and he’d have dismissed the whole encounter as a coincidence had it not been for an online picture that changed things.

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Who's the Other Guy?

In this image, William was taking shots with someone who looked much like Jorge’s brother! One doppelganger is a coincidence, but two are a pattern. There was more at stake here.

Source: NYTimes / Youtube

With that, Jorge ran to his brother Carlos to tell him something weird was happening. Unfortunately, when Carlos got the news that he had an identical twin, he wasn’t as excited as Jorge. Jorge further exacerbated the situation by equating the encounter to a telenovela. Eventually, the amused brother revealed the image, and things turned exciting.

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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

As soon as Carlos saw the image, his demeanor changed. Even though unlike Jorge, he was not excited or curious, his reaction was the opposite. He wanted nothing to do with his supposed doppelganger and his brother.

Source: Reddit

The pragmatic brother was convinced that investigating the situation would only lead to more trouble. Nonetheless, deep down, the men knew that Carlos was probably the switched twin since he had always been the odd duck in the family. With this revelation, Carlos hugged Jorge, saying he wanted to be his brother.

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The Other Side of the Coin

While Jorge and Carlos were getting used to the news that they were not fraternal twins but rather halves of a set of identical twins, William’s cousin came with the information to work. Immediately, William set out to figure out how this happened, especially since he was convinced he was related to the stranger.

Source: Reddit

William’s investigation revealed that he was born in Santander but was sent to Bogota for treatment at 28 weeks. Carlos and Jorge were supposedly born in this hospital, and a switch happened.

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Some Form of Switcharoo

The result had the real Carlos raised as William Velasco and vice versa. This was a profound revelation for William, and it brought him to tears considering that he had never missed his brother or had not known to miss him.

Source: Reddit

This was a rough period, but William was not the only victim. His discovery also involved his brother Wilber, and he had to find an easy way to break the news to him. With that, William bit the bullet and called his brother.

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Breaking the Freaky News

The result had the real Carlos raised as William Velasco and vice versa. This was a profound revelation for William, and it brought him to tears considering that he had never missed his brother or had not known to miss him.

Source: Reddit

This was a rough period, but William was not the only victim. His discovery also involved his brother Wilber, and he had to find an easy way to break the news to him. With that, William bit the bullet and called his brother.

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Excited to Meet Each Other

Regardless of their brothers’ feelings, William and Jorge were excited to meet, and they set up a date. William called on Wilbur for moral and emotional support, and the man was willing to tag along. Janeth and the cousin also came for the ride since they had as much invested in this as the brothers.

Source: Reddit

It would be a meeting for the books since something like this rarely happens in real life. It was the perfect switch with all manners of twists and turns.

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The Weird but Amicable Reunion

The big meeting took place in Jorge’s apartment, and things went better than imagined. The party spent hours combing through their upbringing, and there were many similarities in their dynamics.

Source: Reddit

Carlos and Wilber were the emotional babies, while Jorge and William were more relaxed and collected. Unsurprisingly, the emotional ones turned out to be a hit with the ladies, while the stoic boys were stronger physically. Interestingly, despite being crybabies, Carlos and Wilber were slow to show affection as adults. 

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It's Not All Similarities

Despite being twins, the boys quickly realized they were pretty different too. Wilber was more friendly and loved kids, but Carlos had a cynical demeanor. On the other hand, Wilber had a speech impediment; however, that doesn’t count as Carlos had it as a kid too.

Source: Reddit

Sadly, this reunion was bittersweet as William had to deal with a final blow. His biological mum had passed away a few years ago, meaning he was the only one who wouldn’t get to meet his parents. Additionally, had he been raised by his mum, he’d have finished his education.

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Visiting a Parallel Universe

As soon as the squad got acquainted, everyone wanted to visit their supposed homes. Carlos made his way to the sugarcane farm, where he met his biological parents and siblings. It was a surreal experience seeing what could have been in real-time.

Source: Reddit

The family even took photos to showcase everything; we must say it was an exciting event. This was like piercing the veil and seeing what a parallel universe had in store for you. At the end of it all, there was a lot to unpack.

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Carlos Was the Odd Duck

Unfortunately, Carlos was having a tough time through the whole encounter. His brother was already forming a bond with his identical twin leaving him feeling abandoned. It was an inescapable side effect, but he had to be okay with it.

Source: Reddit

Carlos’ feelings were valid, considering he had grown up with this guy as his twin for most of his life, so letting him go was easier said than done. Nonetheless, once the story got out, more people came by to catch a glimpse of the twins, and things got interesting.

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They're Part of a New Study

When they were approached to be part of a study involving estranged twins, the quadruple was more than willing to participate. This study allowed Carlos to head to his biological homestead and make peace with the developing situation.

Source: Reddit

It was an exciting trip as the man met his biological parents and had a decent time seeing how things could have been. Had the switch not occurred, the young man would have had a different outlook on life and relationships. Probably even another job.

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He Is Part of the Family

Jorge had always been enthusiastic about the whole debacle, so it’s not surprising the lad wanted to welcome Carlos into the fold. Jorge tattooed his brother’s portrait next to their late mum to show his love and respect for his fraternal twin.

Source: Reddit

This was a warm gesture considering how hard Carlos was taking the new developments. The tattoo artist also did a fantastic job accurately capturing Carlos’ features. It’s almost like looking at a photograph of the lad.

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Coming to Terms With Reality

Carlos was still down in the dumps about the budding relationship between his brother and his twin. Nevertheless, Jorge never gave up showing his fraternal brother that he was still a priority. That’s why he decided to get a tattoo in his honor.

Source: Reddit

This gift was better than anyone could have anticipated, and Carlos was moved by the kindness shown by his brother. It was clear Jorge had not left him behind, and no matter what happened, their relationship would still be strong.

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He Was Moved to Tears

What was Carlos’ initial reaction? Carlos was moved to tears as soon as he saw the tattoo. This was the best gift anyone had ever given him, and we doubt anyone would be able to top it for the rest of his life.

Source: Reddit

A tattoo is a big deal, especially from someone who just discovered he is not biologically related to you. From our perspective, this brotherhood remains unshaken, and nothing will tear them asunder. It is up from here.

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Part of a Study

Regardless of their hesitance to indulge strangers and let them in on their lives, things have been okay so far for the twins. The study has been going on great, and the researchers have made some exciting discoveries regarding nature vs. nurture thanks to this unique situation.

Source: Reddit

It’s inspiring how these boys could leverage their unfortunate incident and make good out of it. Moreover, they kept the peace and never pursued any legal action against the responsible parties. Some of us would have been up in arms.

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This Is a Blessing

Even though it was a jarring experience, the boys have taken this development well. They don’t look at it like an upheaval but rather a blessing. According to Jorge, whatever happened wasn’t a horrible incident but rather the growth of their family.

Source: Reddit

Now they have one giant family instead of two separate ones. Who would have thought that a chance encounter at a butchery would have such an incredible development? This is a fairytale-level story, let alone a telenovela, as previously insinuated.

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All's Well That Ends Well

We are happy that everything went well and that no one was affected by the drastic changes. The brothers are getting along well, and both families have no qualms about their discovery. Hopefully, Carlos will be able to foster a relationship with his biological parents despite being estranged for so long.

Source: Reddit

As for the study, we can’t wait to see the results of their findings. The research team has taken a keen interest in this case, meaning something is interesting here.

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The End of the Road

This story makes you wonder how many cases like this one happen daily. How many happy endings have we not been told about? How many twins are floating about, unaware of their siblings?

Source: Reddit

Whatever the case, if this story has shown us anything, it’s the goal to move forward and foster a new path. The boys are not stuck in the past; everything is working out in their favor. They are even part of a scientific study; maybe a documentary is in the pipeline!

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