Demetrio “Rico”
De Silva

Rico served as a bilingual presenter at the Miraflores Locks — the most internationally recognized landmark in Panama. Day after day, he stood before visitors from every continent, explaining the mechanics and the history of one of the world’s most important maritime crossings.

This role demanded more than language skills. It required cultural fluency, stage presence, rapid adaptation, and the ability to make complex information feel personal and memorable — qualities that define Rico’s approach to guiding to this day.

San Blas is not a destination you simply visit. It is one of the last truly wild, indigenous-protected archipelagos on the planet — and Rico has led, coordinated and personally guided over 100 full expeditions there.

This means group logistics, overland transport, maritime coordination, shore assistance, timing management, and the kind of quiet problem-solving that separates a true guide from a tour driver. Travelers who have made this journey with Rico consistently describe it as the finest experience of their trip to Panama.

For years, Rico has been the trusted driver and escort for Panama’s most demanding visitors — ambassadors, foreign consuls, C-suite executives, professional athletes and international dignitaries. This is not just about knowing the roads. It is about reading people, anticipating needs, maintaining total discretion, and delivering an experience that feels effortless.

His command of Panama City — its hotels, restaurants, cultural landmarks, nightlife and business districts — makes him an invaluable first point of contact for any high-profile visitor arriving in the country.

Rico was the first professional tournament director in the history of Panama — organizing and producing over 600 international tournaments and events, bringing competitors and travelers from across the globe and coordinating every element of their stay: hotels, airport transfers, VIP hospitality, player coordination and full event production. Over the course of his career, he paid out over $700,000 in prize money to players from around the world.

He personally competed in — and won — 27 tournaments during his career. This blend of insider operational knowledge and competitive experience gave him an unmatched understanding of what international event travelers need, expect, and remember.

From boyhood, Rico was shaped by sport. Chess, swimming, horse racing and the unstoppable pull of international competition became part of his identity — and eventually, his life’s work.

In 1978, he was in Argentina during one of the most tense and historic moments in the country’s modern history — present on the ground as the nation erupted around Argentina’s first World Cup title, living through the raw emotion of those unforgettable days.

Eight years later, he was inside the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for the 1986 World Cup Final — more than 108,000 people packed into one of football’s most legendary venues — watching Diego Maradona and Argentina lift the trophy for the second time. A moment he witnessed with his own eyes, in person, surrounded by history.

These are not stories he read about. They are experiences that forged a deep, personal understanding of international travel, mass events and what it means to be truly present for a moment the world will never forget.

Long before the internet, Rico was already writing code. In 1977, while still in high school, he was programming IBM computers — going on to work at Banco Nacional de Panamá developing systems in COBOL, RPG II and Assembler.

He also spent more than 20 years living in the United States, an experience that gave him an intimate understanding of American culture, expectations and the way US travelers think — a rare and invaluable perspective for a Panama-based guide working with American clients.

This combination of analytical training and deep cross-cultural fluency gave Rico the organizational discipline and strategic instincts that carry through every chapter of his career. In tourism and logistics, preparation is everything — and Rico brings that rigor to every single experience he provides.