[5][6] Born in Peru in 1930, Cervera is the second of three daughters of Teodosio Cabada, a Peruvian ambassador, and Alicia Cipriani, a real estate developer in her hometown of Lima.

[2] In 1954, while her father was the Peruvian ambassador to Cuba, she married Javier Cervera, whose family business was centered in the Cuban sugar industry.

[1][3][4] In 1979, she approached New York real estate developer Harry Helmsley with a proposal to exclusively represent his planned 254-unit Palace on Brickell.

[1][3]"[4] Within one year of the Palace high-rise, Cervera secured several other major jobs on Brickell Avenue, including The Atlantis (known for its appearance in the opening credits of Miami Vice), Villa Regina and Bristol Towers.

For the last 40 years, she has been President of Clinica San Juan de Dios Miami Foundation, a hospital for disabled children in her native Peru.