Accidental Brothers

by Dr. Nancy L. Segal

  Luz died of stomach cancer when she was fifty-seven, a terrible blow to her sons, her daughter, and her sisters. Jorge and Carlos never told their father that their mother had died because Norman’s own health was poor, and they thought that the news might make him worse. In fact, Norman died of a heart attack about a year after Luz died. Carlos barely acknowledges the father who took so little interest in his family. He and Norman fought bitterly during the few times Norman did show up to visit; they mostly argued over Norman’s failure to bring Luz some money. Unlike Jorge, who accepts people and situations as they are and who generally does what seems appropriate and expected, Carlos did not attend his father’s funeral. He cannot always contain his extreme resentment of his father and uses angry expressions and impatient gestures when he speaks about him. Carlos believes that Norman had no influence on his life, but that remains to be seen—when Carlos becomes a parent, he may try especially hard to give his own children the fatherly love and attention he was denied. In contrast, his love for his mother was so great that it’s hard for him to talk about her. If not for the love lavished on them by their aunts, Luz’s children, then in their twenties, would have found losing her unbearable.

  Some family members say that Jorge looks like Norman, which makes sense because he is Norman’s biological son, but they say that Carlos also looks like Norman. I find this fascinating because, in nearly all the switched-twin cases I have known, mothers have commented on the resemblance of the switched child to relatives on the paternal side of the family. A father’s own perceptions that a particular child looks nothing like him does not mean that the child is not his or that he will not care for the youngster. But fathers tend to invest more time and effort in children who look like them and whose mothers they see as trustworthy and faithful.6 Of course, Carlos’s family members did not offer these comments with questions of his paternity in mind—and, more important, they had no way of knowing that Carlos, the different-looking child, had no biological connection to Norman or to Luz. Perhaps Norman’s failure to see any resemblance between himself and Carlos made their relationship especially contentious. Carlos too was hot tempered, which was different from Norman and Jorge, both of whom tended to remain calm. In reality Carlos shared his temperament with an identical twin he didn’t know he had.

  School Days

  All three of Luz’s children attended district schools, which are public and not as good as the costly private schools, but Luz saw to it that they went to the best ones in the area. She enrolled Jorge and Carlos in the school for boys and Diana in the school for girls. Kindergarten was an all-day affair, lasting from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Then, from the first grade through high school, the day began at 6:30 a.m. and ended at noon. The boys’ high school was the relatively selective Colegio Restrepo Millan, housed in an imposing redbrick structure that has a large open area for assembly and recreation, a world away from the uninspiring field where the La Paz children played. The Colegio’s current mission is to promote leadership in social and cultural projects, based on research and teaching in science and technology.7 Gaining admission to Colegio Restrepo Millan was difficult, and the boys’ older cousins had been forced to leave because they couldn’t keep up. Some people doubted that Jorge and Carlos would succeed at such a school, but Luz disagreed. “You guys are the only ones who decide that,” she told them. Both Carlos and Jorge graduated from the school, enrolled in college, and earned certificates in specialized topics, Carlos in finance and Jorge in mechanical engineering. They worked during the day and attended school at night, and were still doing this when we met them. Diana completed college with a major in social management, followed by one year of postgraduate study. She works as a public information officer for Colombia’s national archives, advising people how to protect and preserve films and photographs. Diana is also her brothers’ confidante and advice giver, a role that comes easily to her, especially since their mother’s death.

  Colombia is a country where people do not read for pleasure, but Diana is an avid reader. Neither Jorge nor Carlos reads much—Carlos follows city news on the Internet, but the last time Diana saw him with a book was two years ago. In fact, Diana does not recall having many books or newspapers around their childhood home, although a Spanish-English dictionary and world atlas were available. Once she started working and earning a salary, she ordered and paid for a newspaper subscription. “Maybe my profession draws people into reading,” she suggested. I believe that the reverse is true, that people who enjoy reading and acquiring information are attracted to a job involving access to historical records and audiovisual materials of national significance.

  Moving On

  When Jorge and Carlos were nineteen, family squabbles prompted them, Diana, and their aunt Blanca Cecilia to move to a three-bedroom apartment in historic Candelaria. Candelaria is the charming colonial district of Bogotá known for its baroque and gothic churches, art museums, quaint hotels, educational institutions, and trendy restaurants. Candelaria draws hundreds of tourists year-round but especially during Holy Week, when a huge procession moves from Monserrate, the sacred mountain and iconic church that loom over Bogotá, to the streets below. But Candelaria is not just for tourists—Jorge and Carlos’s family lived in one of the more residential, less upscale areas. Luz died two years later, in 2009. Deeply troubled by memories of their mother and sister, the foursome left Candelaria for a two-bedroom apartment in the somewhat nicer La Isabela neighborhood of Bogotá. They were joined for a while by Diana’s boyfriend, Andres, but Diana and Andres eventually left, taking Blanca Cecilia with them. During this time Jorge lived intermittently with his girlfriend and her mother.

  Soon it was clear that Jorge was not ready for marriage. But when he became a father, he and Carlos moved to an apartment in the working-class neighborhood of Barrio Bachué, just a block from Jorge’s son, Santi. Jorge and Carlos still live there, along with their aunt Blanca Cecilia, in a duplex apartment that has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. The furnishings are tasteful but a bit sparse. A table in the living room holds some amateur sports trophies that Jorge and Carlos won over the years, Jorge exclusively in football and Carlos mostly in basketball but also football. Among their proudest moments are Jorge’s college championship in football, when he was eighteen and played for the team fielded by the SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje, or National Learning Service); Carlos’s district championship in basketball, when he was nineteen and played for the Kanguros (Kangaroos); and their childhood championship in football, when the twelve-year-olds played for Jaqu Mate (Checkmate) with other boys in their neighborhood.8 Most striking to visitors is a photo of a smiling Santi with his arms around Jorge, whose long dark hair contrasts so sharply with his now closely cropped cut. He is wearing an old yellow Colombian football jersey with the word AGUILA (Eagle) emblazoned across the front over the words MI GUERRERO DE SANGRE (My Blood Warrior).

  The brothers’ apartment is on the second or third story of a big complex, reachable only by an outside stairway. A flat piece of ground separates it from an identical apartment building and provides a convenient play area for young children. It is a comfortable place to live, but hardly the somewhat upscale residence implied by the media once reporters learned of the twins’ story. Nonetheless, Carlos and Jorge had choices that William and Wilber did not have or even know about.

  Accidental Brothers of Bogotá

  One brother in each accidental pair was born and raised where he belonged, and Jorge is one of them. He is the natural leader, the one who answers emails, does interviews about the twins’ switch and reunion, and serves as general spokesman for the gang of four. To promote solidarity among his new band of brothers, he rules with a firm but tender touch. Jorge was the only one of the four twins who answered my initial inquiry, responding: “Hola, Con mucho gusto eres bienvenida a Colombia y compartir todos una nueva experiencia.” (Hello, you are welcome in Colombia to share a new experience.) Jorge has a big personality and a
big presence, captivating people with his charm, grace, and interest in who they are. He comes alive in the limelight, a role he enjoys but one that his more reserved accidental twin brother, Carlos, finds irritating. However, Jorge is firm in his belief that decisions affecting all four be made together.

  Jorge is not big physically. He is slim and just under five feet, seven inches tall. His short dark wavy hair grows neatly and naturally away from his forehead, framing his dark brown eyes and slightly uneven nose. A recent picture shows Jorge and his identical twin brother, William, seated together at a wedding, heads cocked toward one another and touching slightly. It is impossible to tell them apart, especially because of their ears—ear shape and structure are, in fact, genetically influenced features.9 In the photo Jorge is wearing a fancy dark suit and a purple tie—or is he the one sporting the black-and-white checkered tie?

  This wedding scene hides how Jorge and William prefer to dress—both are oblivious to Bogotá’s fashion trends, favoring loose T-shirts, jeans, and sweatshirts even as adults. (Even William’s efforts to show off his new physique have not given him a style that matches that of Carlos and Wilber.) Jorge is clean-shaven except for a small goatee sprouting around his chin and accented by a small patch of hair just under his lower lip. When he smiles, he displays two rows of amazingly even white teeth. His boyish good looks have dazzled hundreds of young women who covered his Facebook page with love letters and friend requests once the twins’ story became widely known.

  Unalike and Unfamiliar

  Some people are hawks (morning people) and some are owls (night people). Which one you are is not entirely a matter of how you were brought up; it’s also a matter of your genes.10 Of course, people can change depending on their assigned work schedules, but adjusting is harder and more unpleasant for some people than others. Jorge is not a morning person—he often breezes into appointments several hours after the agreed-upon time, conveniently blaming some football event or childcare issue for the delay. This tendency can be grating, especially for Carlos, who has deep respect for obligations. But like his reared-apart twin brother, William, Jorge’s manner of smoothing tensions over with such complete sincerity means people never are angry for long. His friends allow him this slack because they see so much good in him.

  Alongside his devotion to his favorite football team, Jorge has big goals and dreams, just like William, but Jorge’s desires and plans to achieve them are not fully formed. He worked days at the Strycon Engineering company, designing gas and water lines until the company laid off employees in February 2016. He still takes night classes at the Fundación Universitaria Los Libertadores, where he is working toward a degree in mechanical engineering and is just starting his own construction company. As the only parent in the group, Jorge is closely involved in the care of Santi, who is now five. He gets Santi ready for kindergarten each day, plays with him on weekends, and “loves the kid to pieces.” Jorge’s strong devotion to his son surprised Diana. “I always knew he would be responsible, but I never thought he would be such a good parent,” she told me. However, Diana doesn’t approve of Jorge’s travels to football matches—often sudden or unplanned—because it means leaving his small son behind, but “Santi brings Jorge back to earth.”

  Jorge’s passion for football worries the people who know him, because he is a fanatico about Atlético Nacional. There are tense rivalries among fans with different team loyalties, and Jorge has been physically attacked at times just for wearing the wrong T-shirt—he claims he never starts these altercations. When I saw him last, he had an angry gash across his forehead, the result, he told me, of being knocked down by a strong wave at a Brazilian beach. But Carlos thinks a fan of a rival soccer team delivered a blow. They fail to see eye to eye on most things, from valuing privacy to respecting punctuality to washing the dishes. But like their La Paz counterparts, the two have often lived together, as many brothers and sisters do as they transition to adulthood, because as familiar figures in each other’s lives, they can be themselves.

  In fact, a growing trend in the United States is for young adult siblings to live together, despite the battles they may have fought as children. Benefits include safety (the presence of a companion), security (emotional support), and solvency (financial relief). The arrangement eliminates the gambling and guesswork involved in living with a friend or someone who answered an ad, because siblings know what they are getting into.11

  At least one source of their brotherly tension was eliminated in the last year. Their aunt Blanca Cecilia now lives with them, cooking their meals, cleaning their house, and washing the dishes.

  * * *

  The accidental switching of Carlos and William turned each into an unwelcome reminder of their accidental lives once they met. Carlos was the baby who suffered from digestion and elimination problems and endured the six-hour bus ride from Vélez, where he and Wilber had been born, to the hospital in Bogotá for treatment.12 He was in the Bogotá hospital’s nursery when Jorge and William were there, and that was when the switch occurred. The baby named Carlos became William when he was sent home to the country, where farm labor was prized and education was not. And the baby named William became Carlos when he was sent home with Luz in Bogotá. Neither twin was responsible for what happened, but as adults William’s initial resentment of Carlos for having the life that should have been William’s was palpable and understandable. And Carlos saw William as embodying the life he should have led, and he found this difficult to accept. It would be a while before these two resolved their feelings.

  Carlos’s early life history had some significant consequences. He doesn’t look like anyone in the family he grew up in. His looks clash sharply with those of Jorge, his accidental twin brother, no doubt explaining why friends and relatives sometimes teased both of them about not being real twins. He seems to tower over Jorge, but he is less than two inches taller—no doubt his solid build makes him appear larger than he is. Carlos’s dark hair, which is straight and short, shows the start of an entrada, or receding hairline.13 Male pattern baldness comes from the mother by way of a recessive gene on one of her two X chromosomes. Wilber also shows this trait.

  Such X-linked traits seem to skip generations because they are not expressed in mothers whose other X chromosome generally has the dominant gene that does not code for baldness. However, X-linked traits are always expressed in sons because they have only a single X chromosome—their Y chromosome is much smaller and does not carry the same genes as the X. These sons can then transmit the gene to their daughters, who do not express it, but can transmit it to their own sons. That Carlos, but not Jorge, showed the beginning of baldness would not have caused anyone to suspect that Carlos had a different mother because women transmit just one of their two X chromosomes to their sons. In this case Carlos’s X chromosome came from his biological mother, Ana Delina, and that chromosome carried the baldness gene. Jorge also received an X chromosome from his biological mother, but it was from Luz and did not carry the baldness gene. This difference in hair growth would not have seemed unusual to anyone because everyone knows that fraternal twins do not have identical genes. Male fraternal twins and siblings each have a 50 percent chance of inheriting the same baldness gene from their mother. This means that in some twin and sibling pairs, both members will be bald, neither will be bald, or only one will be bald.14

  Carlos’s athletic build is enhanced by the stylish tapered shirts and the artfully ripped designer jeans he favors. He wears well-tailored suits to work, showing them off with plenty of dash and a touch of swagger. His nails are manicured and his eyebrows are waxed, part of the fastidious grooming regimen followed by many urban men. Wilber also indulges in manicures and eyebrow treatments, habits he acquired apart from his twin.

  Born in the country but raised in the city, Carlos blossomed in Bogotá’s cultural milieu. He easily acquired the urban sophistication, social skills, and self-confidence that allowed him to successfully navigate big-city life—work, school,
dancing, music, sports, and women. Carlos worked as an accounts analyst while studying to be a certified public accountant, a credential he earned in May 2015. He is now a financial coordinator for the national education ministry and earned a certificate in tax sciences in February 2017. He prides himself on his individuality and independence, and he is careful about whom he trusts.

  Like Wilber, Carlos prefers privacy to publicity and has been reluctant to do anything that brings public attention, but the other brothers’ love of the limelight usually prevails, even though it bothers Carlos. Until recently Carlos had never visited his identical twin in the butcher shop where Wilber works, but when I returned to Bogotá in 2016, sixteen months after visiting in 2015, that was starting to change—lots of things were. Carlos was starting to accept his biological family and place of birth. He was also setting aside his tensions with William, even planning a Mexican vacation for just the two of them. Carlos’s maturity and mind-set were showing through, and the change was impressive. Meanwhile, ever since they had met, Jorge often visited the butcher shop that William managed, working alongside his newfound identical twin, and the two had taken several trips together.

  Carlos hides many of his emotions. He wouldn’t talk about his breakup with a steady girlfriend but looks weepy when the topic comes up. He has deep feelings for Jorge, but he expresses them only when he’s drunk. “I love you, brother,” he has been known to mumble, replaying Wilber’s emotional outburst to William as they marched through the jungle. Reserve and reflection can make Carlos appear callous at times. He barely acknowledges the father who abandoned his family, and early on he maintained long silences when anyone raised the topic of growing up in the wrong family. When he did speak he referred to “the grandmother” who had brought him to Bogotá and “the aunt” who had left him there. He had to confront the fact that he really belonged in rural La Paz with a different mother, father, and twin, an existence far removed from the city life he thrives on. Chance kept him in Bogotá—had his Aunt Edelmira brought the right baby back to La Paz, Carlos would never have known the big-city ways that define him.