Pushing All My Buttons: Inside Panama's Secret Sexual Spaces - Part 1

Entry door of a mid-range push button motel

Is This Foreplay?

Once the garage door closed behind us, we were forced to turn the car off and naturally the A/C with it. The Panamanian heat immediately made me second-guess this little road trip I had talked my friend into. But here we were. Surveying the garage like minors in a cave, as the interior car lights dimmed trying to figure out how to pay for something we'd never experienced before. We had arrived at the first ‘Push Button’ motel on our tour, not to have sex, but to gather intel into the world's most awkward research project. And as we stumbled around the car, looking for where to place the money, I realized, this was not quite as sexy as I thought it would be. However, I was unrelenting in my quest to learn more.

The Art of Invisible Intimacy

"Push Buttons"—always spoken in English, rarely Spanish—get their name from those automated garage doors that swallow your car whole. Once inside, you hit a button to close the world out, rent a room by the hour, and remain completely invisible. No reservations. No front desk small talk. No credit card paper trail. No human interaction whatsoever, where anonymity isn't just preferred—it's the entire point. Not to say there aren’t any security or safety measures in place – but more about that later.

I first heard about this concept over Sunday brunch with my Panamanian friends, about a year after moving here from Las Vegas. Even coming from Sin City—where sex practically permeates the desert air—nothing had prepared me for this revelation. Not because of the dedicated venues for sexual activity, but how the anonymity of the entire process is embraced. My friends discussed Push Buttons the way Americans might debate coffee shops. Casual. Matter-of-fact. Revolutionary. Push Buttons are a distinct and modern manifestation of Panama’s longstanding underground erotic culture. That's when it hit me: these weren't just seedy motels. They were a cultural institution and an integral part of Panamanian social construct.

What you think you know

I was enthralled with this Central American spin on how to accommodate sex, intimacy and discretion. I immediately started making plans to visit one. But before my first tour, I scheduled interviews with a few locals to understand the process and the social acceptance that allowed this type of sexual rendezvous – in a Catholic country no less. My assumptions evaporated during pre-visit interviews with locals. I quickly learned Push Buttons aren't exclusively for extra-marital affairs or sex work, though both happen. What blew my mind was that most Fathers introduced their teenage sons to Push Buttons almost as a rite of passage. Information gets traded between young men like baseball cards, reinforcing those deep-rooted Latin machismo ideals where male virility rules.

One friend confessed she lost her virginity in a Push Button. Her mother worked for a major hotel chain, so checking into a regular motel felt too risky—someone might recognize her. In the mid-60s, Push Buttons cost around $6-8 per hour, perfect for cash-strapped young lovers. So, back then while American teenagers were steaming up car windows in the backseat of Ford Mustangs, Panamanian youth were driving into discrete garages.

Then there was the unexpected news that there are push buttons owned & operated by women. Imagine my surprise when another female Panamanian friend revealed that she at one point considered opening her own Push button because of their low overhead, ease of market entry and a minimal operational business model. A free-thinking, smart women had recognized that Push buttons are a stable and equal opportunity enterprise. naturally, my brain began spinning with all the creative ideas that a woman would bring to the Push button model. I regretted that I hadn't been able to find nor speak with any women owners. but i digress.

Meeting Real Needs

But here's what makes Push Buttons brilliant and highly profitable: they solve actual problems. I discovered they serve specific societal needs arising from Panama’s unique household structures. In Panama's multi-generational households—where college students live at home until graduation, where grandparents share living spaces with married children—privacy becomes precious currency. These motels offer couples a few hours of sexual freedom without social shame or family awkwardness. Every single Panamanian I questioned knew exactly what Push Buttons were. While most people did not seem embarrassed or judgmental, there were a few raised eyebrows that a woman was bold enough to ask the investigative questions. The bottom line is Push Buttons exist because they're needed and accepted because they're useful.

The Silent Transaction

We finally found the payment slot—a small opening in the door that looked like a mail slot's naughty cousin. I shoved our money through and waited. There was no verbal confirmation. Certainly no receipt. No human acknowledgment whatsoever. But within just a few minutes, the door clicked and unlocked. We were in.

What we saw inside our Push Button room was fascinating.  Stay tuned where I'll reveal what couples actually experience behind these closed doors in Part 2 of “Pushing All My Buttons” – my discovery series about Panama’s Secret Push Button motels.