[2][3] The Games were officially opened by Panamanian president Demetrio Basilio Lakas.

Torch lighter was long distance runner Faustino López, who won the gold medal in the 5000 metres event at the 1951 Bolivarian Games.

[4] A detailed history of the early editions of the Bolivarian Games between 1938 and 1989 was published in a book written (in Spanish) by José Gamarra Zorrilla, former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee, and first president (1976-1982) of ODESUR.

[4] About 1200 Athletes from 5 countries were reported to participate:[4] The following 16 sports were explicitly mentioned:[1][4] The medal count for these Games is tabulated below.

[6] This table is sorted by the number of gold medals earned by each country.