This was Mexico's first all-talking motion picture.
Star Lupita Tovar stated in a 2008 interview on NPR that she was 20 at the time this film was produced and had no idea what the film was going to be about, having only been told the title of the film. Therefore, believing the movie was about a saint, she readily agreed.
Both actors Carlos Orellana (Hipolito) and Mimí Derba (Elvira) also shared the screen on another iconic Mexican film, «Dos Tipos de Cuidado» (Two Careful Fellows) in 1952 which screenplay was also co-written by Orellana.
Santa, was shot in Chimalistac which is a suburb in southern Mexico City formed by a pre-Hispanic origin village and a subdivision developed by the end of 19th century established on the grounds of what was once the gardens of the Carmelite school of San Ángel characterized by the uniformity of its architectural ensemble and it's irregular layout streets which remain cobbled. Nowadays many of the locations seen on the movie remain.
The eponymous novel on which the film is based is considered the first Mexican Best-Seller. Its "First Edition" in 1913 sold around 5,000 copies.