 The film was originally supposed to be shot in Ecuador for the  jungle scenes but when that was deemed too expensive it was moved to  the Dominican Republic a virtual military dictatorship at that time.  The town in the film is Alto Gracia. Soon after the film was  finished the town erupted in real life riots (reflecting a scene  from the film) when the president nullified an election that he lost  to a liberal candidate. The riots spread to neighboring villages  forcing the president to step down.