Alejandro Jodorowsky's sons Adan Jodorowsky & Axel Jodorowsky both play the part of Fenix at different ages.
All the films advertised at the cinema where the Downs syndrome youngsters are dropped off were directed by the film's executive producer, René Cardona Jr..
As a tribute to Mexican horror films, Santa Sangre (1989) includes a scene with masked wrestlers and a "superwoman" named La Santa.
The line spoken during the death of the elephant "The Elephant is Dying" is used as the opening line of "What's up with You" - a song by Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson.