NEWSFLASH

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PRISCILLA ALMEDA TALKS ABOUT HER BREAST IMPLANTS
(Reprinted by special arrangement with MIRROR magazine) By Ruby V. Asoy

Manila, Oct. 9, 1998 - "I have no regrets. But it feels heavy when I dance . . . and I can't sleep flat on my stomach."

Priscilla Almeda, one of the country's leading sex nymphets, has no qualms about admitting she had surgery to enlarge her breasts.

"It's an open secret," she said in a recent interview. "I was 17 when I had it done. I thought then that my breasts were small, so to make them fuller I opted for a breast implant."

"I don't think I did it because I am in the movies. Whether I am in the movies or not I think I would still have them done. I prefer to have big breasts."

Priscilla's implants were paid for by producer Robbie Tan. After the operation, Priscilla boasted of a size 34B cup in contrast to her previous 33A.

"Before I just had a little cleavage," she confessed. "I like my present shape and size, 34-23-36. My waistline is small but I have huge hips."

The breast implants entailed putting silicone gel into her breasts.

"I was nervous and excited before I underwent the operation," she quipped. "But when they injected the needle in my breasts, I said 'Oh my god.' Then they put anesthesia. When I woke up I looked at my breasts and I started screaming. Wow! My breasts were big already! I couldn't move my arms. It was very painful. I had wounds underneath my breasts. I think they used a metal thing (which looks like a staple wire )."

After the operation, Priscilla was advised not to take a bath for about two weeks to avoid infection.

"Then after that, when the wounds healed, it seemed normal again. But sometimes it feels heavy. Before I love to dance, but now I feel heavy because of the added weight on my breasts so it's harder for me to move. But I can still manage although there are limitations like I can't go scuba diving and skydiving, and can not sleep flat on my stomach.""

She said her breasts feel like the real thing. "Sometimes when the weather is hot, my breasts are also hot; and when it's cold they are also cold. I need to be extra careful. "

Pricilla said she will have the silicone implants changed after two more years. "The doctor told me the silicone has to be changed every five or 10 years."

Priscilla agreed to have an implant although the possible consequences were a little scary. "But it's already there. Well, if I die you guys will know about it. It's okay if I go through it again. I've gone through it already."

"No regrets," she said. "I don't see anything wrong about it because it can make you look better. In fact, it makes me look confident. Before I couldn't wear a two-piece in the movies because I didn't have the breasts to hold the two-piece (suit) together."

"I'm not ashamed that I had an implant. Actually, in the States it's the 'in' thing now. Probably some doctors came out with this thing because they want women with smaller breasts to look better and to boost their confidence. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I feel better. Aside from her breasts no other part of her body has been enhanced.

"Everything is real," she said. " I will never have my face touched. Because if I do that, it's not me anymore. I'm against that naman. Because God gave you the face (whatever you look like), you don't have to change it. But anything in your body, can undergo changes. It's just fine. "

To women out there, Priscilla has this advice, "If you're contented with your small breasts, it's okay. There's nothing wrong with having small breasts. I wasn't, so I had mine enhanced."

Career shift Saying she's had enough of bold roles, Priscilla is venturing into a new field: singing. She is now busy recording her first album under Alpha Records, which will be launched next year. She said the album will contain Tagalog songs by today's popular composers.

When not busy recording, she does concerts and shows in clubs, lounges, hotels, and casinos in the Philippines and abroad. She has also tried appearing in musical plays like National Artist Nick Joaquin's LARAWAN, THE MUSICAL, and the ongoing comedy revue by Nestor Torre, Etiquette for Mistresses based on Jullie Yap-Daza's best-selling book with the same title. The play is being staged at the Music Museum.

"Doing movies will always be there, but I want to stick to my singingcareer," she noted. "I just had shows in Mimosa and Baguio. First things first, I want to have a hit single. Later, I might hold a concert."

She loves singing more than acting. "But I must admit, I am already missing acting. That was my first love," she related.

Priscilla recalled that back in Canada, when she was a kid, she would lock herself up in her room and would start jumping up and down her bed to the tune of Madonna's music.

"Then I started singing and dancing," she continued. " I've always tried singing when I was a kid. But I admit I was sintonado."

A new outlook in life Priscilla disclosed that she has no regrets about everything that happened in the past. "Like doing bold movies, I don't have any regrets because it made me a stronger person. All the problems that I've encountered, I charged them all to experience. The past made me the person that I am today."

She said her image as a bold star and the exploitation issue are things of the past. "That was how they (her former film outfit) built my image. Before I felt really hurt when they called me a bold star," she related.

"On hindsight, I felt what the heck. It's true I did it, so what? I was exploited. I don't want to talk about it. At least from that experience, I've learned not to trust people easily, and to keep a distance. I know how to read a person's character now. I've learned that flowery, flattery words, signal trouble. Of course, I cannot generalize."

As a person, she's quite impulsive. "If I think of doing something, I just do it. You know, doing crazy little things adds more excitement to our life," she reasoned out.

Priscilla is the only child by her biological parents, who now have their own families. "My dad, now has six children (including me); my mom, there are five of us. With my foster parents, there are 12 of us, " she said.

"My family is big. But I don't live with them. Since I left Seiko Films, I am on my own now with my Tita Nacy."

Twenty-year-old Priscilla was born in the Philippines, but she was raised by adoptive parents in Canada, where she stayed for nine years. Her being liberated was part of her upbringing.

"Being liberated there is quite different from here, because we have closely-knit families. In Canada, my foster parents were always working. So I stayed home alone most of the time. Now, they agree that it's better if I live on my own or if I live with my Tita. At first, they couldn't understand me, because they never listened to me; they're always busy."

The usual advice she gets from her foster parents is : "not to be very trusting, be careful in making decisions, and to learn to save money."

If there's one thing she likes in her life now it is having "more choices."

"And I have a lot of opportunities. Aside from show business, I'm learning to venture into other businesses, sort of as a fallback when I'm no longer active in showbiz," she said.

"Since I was not able to finish high school, I have to learn to manage a company."

Off camera, Priscilla is a homebody.

"I watch TV, sleep, and read my favorite books which include those of Jackie Collins, Sydney Sheldon, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, among others."

She used to surf the internet, but she got bored. She paints bottles and glasses during her spare time.

Love Life The young lady is definitely blooming these days. Her non-showbiz boyfriend of three years is keeping her inspired all the time. She found her ideal man in him.

"I love the guy so much; we're very much in love with each other," she remarked. "In my past relationships, I was very childish. If I didn't see the guy for a week, I would say goodbye. I was very possessive. Now, I've learned that when you love someone, you don't suffocate him. Let him do the things he wants to do. You have to be more understanding, and accept the person for his good and bad sides."

She said she doesn't plan to tie the knot yet but she hopes she and her boyfriend will be together forever. (end)