Abducted as babies in the 1970s, these Argentines found a way toward their true identity
Claudia Poblete is one of the 133 “recovered grandchildren” of Argentina, found by their biological families years after their parents went missing during the 1970s dictatorship.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Claudia Poblete can’t help it. On certain days, as she passes in front of a church, she automatically crosses herself while her children gaze at her with confusion.
She didn’t raise them as Catholics — as she was — because her spirituality has shifted.
In 2000, Poblete didn’t go by her current name. She was called Mercedes Landa, and before a judge showed her a DNA test result that confirmed her true identity, she was unaware that she was among hundreds of babies who were abducted during the Argentine dictatorship.
Poblete is one of the 133 “recovered grandchildren” of Argentina. Now adults, they were found by their biological families years after their parents went missing when the military took power on March 24, 1976.
Claudia Poblete in front of a mural depicting the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo group, at the former Navy School of Mechanics, known as ESMA, now a human rights museum, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on March 22, 2024.Natacha Pisarenko / APUntil democracy was restored in 1983, at least 30,000 people had disappeared. Many of them were militants whose mothers started gathering at Buenos Aires’ main square and later became known as the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.
Rating: 5