Bella Flores
Personifying Cruelty


Born Remedios P. Dancel (on February 27, 1936 in the City of Manila), Bella Flores (a name given by Sampaguita Pictures star-builder Doc Jose Perez) is, in Philippine cinema, cruelty personified, with this FAMAS award-winning actress long synonymous with villainy onscreen.

While it can be said that it all started when Flores, at 17, appeared in Tatlong Balaraw (1950), even as a college sophomore at the Far Eastern University, the Flores that everybody know actually came into being when she was 18, cast as the cruel stepmother of Tessie Agana in Sampaguita Films’ Roberta.  The film was so successful it was credited for saving the studio, after it was hazed by fire – and it elevated Flores in the upper tier of film stars by typecasting her as a villain, as she has since appeared in over 500 films, mainly as a villain, including tormenting Vilma Santos in Trudis Liit in 1963, and Maricel Soriano in Inday Bote in 1970.

Interestingly, the villainy is all image.  At least so says those who knows Flores off-cam.

In the Philippine Star, Pempe Rodrigo, a friend of Flores, says she is “all bark and no bite.”  “Sa totoong buhay (In real life), she is such a tender loving person.  If you are her friend, you will be her friend forever.  She is such a jolly person that we love to have her in our gatherings.”

Flores herself was quoted as saying: “I walk alone. I pray alone. I talk to God na huwag ako pababayaan. There are times I feel lonely, natural lang ‘yun. I know God is always with me.”

Flores moved to the US in 2008 to be with her only daughter, Ruby Rose Arcilla in Las Vegas – even prior to receiving the Diwata Award given to Outstanding Women in the Movie Industry at the18th International Women’s Film Festival from the UP Film Institute (past awardees include Charo Santos, Vilma Santos, and screenwriter Lualhati Bautista).

The same Philippine Star interview further quotes Flores: “I have no regrets in my profession.  Although I am not a superstar, I have also tasted admiration and tributes.”

And that, she does, too.

For, like her or hate her, there can only be one Bella Flores.