Silvia Bardales faces cancer with strength and wisdom: “I learned to live in the present without thinking about the future”

Those who face adverse moments do not always lose their smile or become enveloped in darkness. Silvia Bardales laugh out loud, live intensely and be grateful for the good moments, but especially the bad ones. She is a patient of recurrent breast cancer. The illness returned and tested – once again – his strength and wisdom. “I’m not afraid of her, but I must admit that she changed my life,” she says.

The “Luz de Esperanza” actress was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2015. “Thanks to a self-examination they were able to detect the disease in time. When they gave me the result, I didn’t tell anyone. I took a car without knowing where to go. I saw everything in slow motion. When I got home, my daughter asked me if she was okay. I answered yes. The next day I told Father Robert, may he rest in peace. His advice helped me a lot. He gave me the peace to think about what I was going to do. I remembered that I have I have a cousin who is a breast oncologist, I went to him and from the beginning I told him: ‘Whatever doesn’t work, throw it away,’” he recalls.

After undergoing a mastectomy and several chemotherapies, Silvia continued her treatment with pills. She lost her hair and lost weight. She weighed 40 kilos.

“I isolated myself, but I did not give up. I surrounded myself with positive people, who made me laugh a lot. My family gave me moral support, which is very necessary in these cases. I overcame cancer, but in 2022 it returned. They had to operate on me again. I am currently continuing oral chemo. I learned to live present without thinking about him future. I’ll leave when it’s my turn, but I don’t think about it”, he nods.

Passion for art

Silvia Bardales was born in Pucallpa. She is the last of nine siblings. Her father was a psychopedagogue and played the mandolin. Her mother was a teacher and lover of singing. Her artistic expressions were always present in her home. Therefore, it is not surprising that since she was a child she took dance and ballet classes.

“I started dancing in Armando Barrientos’ dance team. And it was he who took me to ‘Risas y salsa’. I started on the dancer staff. A year and a half later, they told me that I had to move to the actress group. It was hard news for me. I went to cry in a corner. I remember that Aunt Jesús Morales, may she rest in peace, approached me to say: ‘How long will the bailadera last for you?’ She gave me a zamacón“, remember.

The actress was part of tuned humor spaces, such as: “Risas de América” and “La Gran Revista”. In the latter she developed, together with Patricia Alquinta, Karen América and Jesús Morales, one of the most remembered sketches on national television: “The Defective Family.”

“Guillermo Guille created the characters based on our weaknesses. He was very observant. One day when they were doing our makeup, Karen came in to tell us that her friend, who was a gaga, was going to study English. Then he imitates her. And Patricia was always sparing, she spoke very little. While I was in a hurry because she worked in an office. She came with the right things, threw things away and changed me quickly. There you have La Gaga, La Sorda and La Eléctrica”, he points out.

Silvia never stayed still. At the height of her career, she moved away from comedy to avoid being pigeonholed into that genre. She remained distant from TV for three years, until Alomi Producciones signed her for her soap operas. Then, Oswaldo Cattone recruited her for “Brujas.”

In the life of the national artist, love had a privileged place. “I always had long-term lovers. I got married, I got separated, I got divorced. Then I fell in love again. I had my daughter. I was widowed. Then I wanted to give it a chance, but I saw that it was taking up my time. I think I got used to being alone, although I would have liked to enjoy being with my partner until we were old.”, he nods.

“Light of hope”

At the end of 2023, when she was planning to travel to the interior of the country, she was summoned to play Guillermina Huanca in the ‘spin off’ of “Luz de Luna”, a fiction that has André Silva and Naima Luna in the main roles, and which will be It broadcasts from Monday to Friday at 9:40 pm on América Televisión.

“At first I did not accept the proposal because I had pending issues to resolve, and I also wanted to rest; but I ended up accepting because they told me it would only be for three months. My character is beautiful. She is a provincial, strong and fighter“, he highlights after thanking life for giving him – he assures – blessings like these. “I am in a happy, calm stage, of compensation and constant learning. I take advantage, value and enjoy every moment”, he emphasizes.