In 2023, Spanish actress Ana Obregón, 70, appeared on the cover of a magazine cradling a newborn baby girl. The image immediately captivated and divided the public in equal measure. The child, named Anita, had been born via surrogacy. What made the story extraordinary was the reason behind it.
Obregón's son, Aless Lequio García, died of cancer in May 2020 at the age of 27. Before his death, he had always spoken about wanting to become a father one day, a dream that was taken from him before he had the chance to realise it. His doctors had recommended storing his sperm prior to his cancer treatment, and Obregón had followed that advice, keeping the samples at a New York fertility clinic.
After losing him, Obregón made a promise she felt unable to break.
"The only thing that has allowed me to continue living every day, every second, is to fulfil the mission of bringing Aless's daughter into the world," she said.
Three years after his death, she used his stored sperm and a surrogate to bring into the world the daughter he had always wanted. The child was registered in Spain, where surrogacy is illegal but permitted when carried out abroad.
Obregón has been clear about how she views her relationship to the child. "This baby girl is not my daughter, but my granddaughter," she told Hola! magazine. "She is Aless' daughter, and when she grows up I will tell her that her father was a hero, so that she knows who she is and how proud she should be of him."
Public reaction has been divided. Some have expressed deep empathy, with one commenter saying they would consider doing the same if they lost an adult child. Others have found the situation harder to process, with some describing it as unsettling or difficult to fully accept.
For Obregón, none of that appears to matter. Anita, she has said, has filled her life with light even in the depths of grief, and is the living fulfilment of a promise made to her son on the day he died.
