John Sayles wrote his first draft in Spanish, the second in English and then polished it back into Spanish for his third draft.
John Sayles based the main character, Dr. Fuentes, on Dr. Nelson Arrau, a character mentioned in Francisco Goldman's novel The Long Night of White Chickens (1992). Goldman based this character on his uncle, who was a doctor in Guatemala and involved in an international health program. A few years later he came to find out that most of his students, whom he had sent off to serve as rural doctors, had been murdered by the government that supported the program.
Sayles was friends with Goldman, and asked if he could use the character for his movie. Goldman agreed, and was touched when he found out Sayles had listed the inspiration in the end credits.
Sayles was friends with Goldman, and asked if he could use the character for his movie. Goldman agreed, and was touched when he found out Sayles had listed the inspiration in the end credits.
The movie was filmed entirely in Mexico, in 40 locations, including: Mexico City; Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl; Pueblo Naranjal, Xonotzintla, Soledad Atzompa, Soledad de Doblado, Zongolica, and Jalapilla, all in Veracruz; Palenque and San José Babilonia, both in Chiapas.
John Sayles does not name the country in the film, and the music he uses is quite eclectic and not tied to any specific Latin American country. This is because Sayles did not want people to think that it can "only happen in El Salvador, that can only happen in Guatemala or Mexico". He felt the film has universal overtones and the events portrayed in the story could have happened anywhere on the planet.
Principal photography was done in thirty-seven shooting days in January and February 1997 and filmed in over forty locations.