The story starts in 1880, near the date when the remains of the deceased José de San Martín were moved to Buenos Aires. Manuel Corvalán, a veteran of the Army of the Andes gets interviewed for the event, and the narration continues mostly through flashbacks, following a very young Manuel, who gets a job as the secretary of San Martín and accompanies him during a journey in which he witnessed two of the most important events in Argentine history: the Crossing of the Andes and the later Battle of Chacabuco.
At the announcement, the President stated that "this is a very special moment for everyone because addressing from public television the Crossing the Andes is more than just remember a milestone in the struggle for emancipation."[3] She explained that the movie would focus on the personal traits of San Martin, and pointed that if San Martín "had listened to the voices who say that nothing can be done, that everything is impossible, he would still be in Mendoza and we would be subjects of the King of Spain.".[3]
The filming started on June 1 of 2009 at the Calingasta valley in the province of San Juan, with a crew of more than 100 people.[4] Along with de la Serna, there were 15 principal actors in the film, and more than 1400 extras.[4] The scenes filmed in Mendoza ended up being shot the following August.[5]
