Trivia / Maria Full of Grace

• Amateur Cast: Most of the cast was made up of nonprofessional actors.
• California Doubling: Several bombings took place prior to Colombia's 2002 presidential elections, so the producers were prohibited from shooting in Colombia. Venezuela was considered for an alternate location until a coup d'état attempt, so shooting took place in the Ecuadorian village of Acamaguaña instead.
• Enforced Method Acting: Catalina Moreno (Maria) did not practice swallowing the pellets before the scene was shot, because her character would also struggle to swallow them for the first time. She also did not meet with real drug mules because she wanted to appear to be as clueless to the process and the consequences as Maria was.
• Method Acting: To prepare for the role of Maria, Catalina Moreno spent two weeks working at a flower plantation, cutting roses.
• Reality Subtext: Orlando Tobón, who played Don Fernando and was credited as an associate producer, was playing a version of himself. He was a community leader in Queen's Little Colombia neighborhood. During his life, he himself helped raise funds so that Colombians killed while smuggling drugs inside of them could be buried in their home countries instead of an unmarked grave in Potter's Field.