Director José Luis García Agraz had recently returned from India where he directed a music video for Mexican Pop Star Emmanuel. He was so impressed with India's culture, that he improvised a small scene involving an Indian couple having a conversation with Aaron Copland (actor Steven Brown) in the bar at the Salon Mexico dance hall.
The film was shot in Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City. In the scene where the main dance hall appears filled with people dancing, the size of the soundstage was so big that even though there were 500 extras, the place looked half-empty. So the director sent members of the crew to get fitted for costumes and make up to fill up space. Visitors to the set were invited to participate as extras to make the dance hall look full. In the end, use of telephoto lenses and lower camera angles created the illusion of a dance hall filled to capacity.
Although this film is commonly referred to as a remake, in reality it is an homage. The events of this film were supposed to "inspire" the 1949 version directed by Emilio Fernandez. In fact, the character Aaron Copland (played by Steven Brown) is based on the real Aaron Copland who composed his signature work El Salon Mexico in 1935. The last scene depicts an actor playing director Emilio Fernandez as he "directs" the 1949 film Salón México.
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