David Silva was born on October 9, 1917 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico as David Silva Guglielmeti. Of Swiss-Italian and French descent on his mother's side, David Silva was born in Mexico City on October 8, 1917, to David Silva Ramírez, an outstanding singer and operatic singing teacher, and Aída Guglielmeti Travesí, of North American origin. Because his father worked alongside Enrico Caruso, part of David's childhood was spent in the United States, and it was not until his father's retirement that the family returned to Mexico, where he began his studies at the French-English School in Mexico City, and later studied at the National School of Jurisprudence of the UNAM, where he did not finish his studies because of his participation as an extra in the film Bajo el cielo de México, at the express invitation of his school friends.