Filming of the series began on 7 March 2018 in Cartagena, Colombia. The series was shot primarily in Colombia, featuring cities such as Villa de Leyva, Monguí, Santa Fe de Antioquia, Calí, Popayán, and natural areas in the Los Nevados National Natural Park, El Páramo de Oceta, as well as the Eastern Plains of Colombia. In May 2018, Caracol, with the assistance of local production by Galdo Medio, began filming in Spain. Scenes in Spain were shot in Toledo, with the production also being able to shoot some scenes on the Lavaderos de Rojas estate; in Aranjuez; and in Pedraza. Some parts of the series were filmed between the border of Venezuela and Colombia. Three production units were used, with simultaneous filming lasting from March through September 2018. Producer Asier Aguilar says that finding locations to recreate the colonial settings was difficult, but that trying to find locations for certain historical moments set in Venezuela was harder because of the country's biodiversity; as an example, Aguilar says that they had to recreate a low-lying coastal Vargas swamp in a town near Boyacá, 3,000 metres up in the Andes mountains. Before the series premiered, it was heavily criticised by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was angry about potential defamation, wanting to preserve Bolívar's image and tell everyone that Bolívar was Venezuelan, not Colombian, saying the other country was "running a hate campaign". Abreu, who plays the adult Bolívar in the show, responded to this comment by saying "You will have to watch it first before saying if you like it or not, and we will accept that opinion then, that is what free speech is"; he also said: "I think you have issues that are much, much more important to deal with, though". Nadan, playing the adult Manuela Sáenz, responded more diplomatically by saying that "everyone is free to view the series in their own way". In August 2019, Maduro apologized for his comments and congratulated the actors for their performances. Analyzing Maduro's criticism, historian Omar Galíndez spoke to BBC Mundo, suggesting that Maduro's "excessive zeal" to control the narrative surrounding Bolívar comes from a Chavist skepticism; that Hugo Chávez' revolution used the ideals and legendary status of Bolívar for its political gain, which, while highly criticized, forms the ideological basis for Maduro's power and support.