Hallmark Star Alec Santos Details Unforgettable ‘Machu Picchu Proposal’ Shoot

Hallmark Channel’s newest film, ‘A Machu Picchu Proposal’, is set to premiere this week, a movie that combines romance, love, unexpected moments, and fun. Set in the Peruvian landscape of Machu Picchu, the story centers around Katie, whose brother’s wedding proposal goes downhill.

She finds herself in Carlos’s orbit, a chef with a whole lot of charm who prefers following his instinct over itineraries. Actor Alec Santos, who plays Carlos in the film, recently talked about shooting the flick in paradise during a chat with TV Fanatic.

Bucket List Location

Alec tells TV Fanatic that making the movie was “… a dream come true”. He adds, “We shot in Machu Picchu, right? That is a bucket-list place for so many people.”

With that said, the filming was not overly peaceful as the movie was not a closed set, with a lot of background noise, from people shouting to dogs barking, so they had to get used to it all during the shoot.

As ‘A Machu Picchu Proposal’ is part of the Hallmark Channel’s ‘Passport to Love’ series, and the movie wasn’t merely filmed in Peru – the cast and crew were fully immersed in the culture of this area of the world. The actor goes on to say, “People pay a lot of money to go to different countries and sometimes have a trip curated for them.”

Alec adds, “It was the best of curations. We get to go to places where tourists don’t get to go. We got to meet real local people, including local actors, who had a lot to say about the area. It was an immersion you couldn’t put a price on.”

Diving Into The Role

Alec also talked about his character, Carlos, who’s a chef in the flick, but thankfully, he didn’t have to learn much about making food, as the actor pointed out that Carlos was on vacation in the movie! Alec added that while he does love food, his partner, Tara, usually does most of the meal prep at home, as he couldn’t touch her talent in the kitchen.

With that said, he fully enjoyed the cultural cuisine he was exposed to while on set. Alec states, “I already love to eat, and the food there? Peru is constantly in the world’s top five destinations for food.”

The actor added, “Everything we ate there was out of this world. Even the empanadas we make in one scene — I got to eat those.”

A Machu Picchu Proposal debuts this Saturday, June 28, at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark – will you catch it? Comment below and continue to visit this site for all the best Hallmark Channel news, updates, and spoilers.