A WOMAN was reunited with her long-lost mum after her grandmother sold her when she was a baby to avoid bringing "shame" to the family.
Ana Paula Tolosa Safigueroa, 48, was born when her mum was just 13, and the family believed they would have been met with "social condemnation" if they had kept her.
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Ana Paula Tolosa Safigueroa discovered she had been adopted when she was 24 Credit: Newsflash 4
Ana Paula was shocked to find that she was just 20 blocks from her biological family when she was growing up Credit: Newsflash
She only discovered that she had been purchased by her adoptive parents when she was 24.
Ana Paula and her 62-year-old mother, Devora Safigueroa, were finally reunited in their home country of Argentina after almost five decades apart.
Devora confirmed that she gave birth to Ana Paula when she was just 13, and to avoid "the shame" that would have been visited on the family in 1970s Argentine society.
She revealed that her parents took Ana Paula from her against her will just moments after she was born.
When I was born, the midwife told my mother that I was a boy and that they had given me to some people in Magdalena. It was all a lie, so they could never find me.
Ana Paula
Ana Paula was subsequently sold into a family she long suspected was not her biological one, given their different physical features.
She told local TV channel TN: "When I was born, the midwife told my mother that I was a boy and that they had given me to some people in Magdalena. It was all a lie, so they could never find me.
"During my childhood, I was 20 blocks from my real parents' house."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ana Paula was contacted by a biological cousin on Facebook, who then notified Devora's daughters - Ana Paula's sisters - who then told Devora herself.
The cousin found Ana Paula after she shared a post on the social network writing about her long-lost mum accompanied by a photo of herself, which the cousin saw and noticed she resembled Devora's daughters.
A DNA test performed in August 2020 matched both mum and daughter with 99.9 percent certainty.
Devora was living in the city of La Plata and Ana Paula in the city of Bragado at the time, over three hours away by car.
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Due to coronavirus restrictions, they could not meet in person, so they spent a month talking via video call until they were finally able to meet and hug.
In addition to Devora, Ana Paula was also reunited with her dad, who cried during the trio's first video call.
Of their first meeting in person, Devora said: "It's a dream I didn't want to wake up from."
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She was sold to her adoptive parents over fear of bringing 'shame' on the family Credit: Newsflash 4
The mother and daughter held hands after they met for the first time Credit: Newsflash