Adventures , fencing , romance , battles and action ; being shot on location in Panama . Film inspired on the life of Vasco Núñez De Balboa (Frank Latimore) , though it has actual and fictitious elements . Vasco traveled to the New World in 1500 and along with his followers (Jorge Martin , José Canalejas , Frank Braña , Alfonso De La Vega , and Jesús Puente as Francisco Pizarro) , after some exploration , settled on the island of Hispaniola . He founded the settlement of Santa María La Antigua Del Darién in present-day Panama in 1510 , which was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas , though a settlement by Alonso De Ojeda the previous year had already been abandoned . Meanwhile, Vasco falls in love for a beautiful native called Anayensi (Pilar Cansino) . With the title of governor came absolute authority in Santa María and all of Veragua . One of Balboa's first acts as governor was the trial of Fernández De Enciso (Carlos Casaravilla) , accused of usurping the governor's authority . De Enciso was sentenced to prison and his possessions were confiscated . However , he was to remain imprisoned only for a short time : Balboa set him free under the condition that he return immediately to Hispaniola and from there to Spain . With him on the same ship were two representatives from Balboa , who were to inform the colonial authority of the situation : Diego Colón , Christopher's son (Pastor Serrador) and request more men and supplies to continue the conquest of Veragua . Balboa continued defeating various tribes and befriending others, exploring rivers, mountains, and sickly swamps , while always searching for gold and slaves and enlarging his territory . He was also able to quell revolts among those of his men who challenged this authority, and, through forcé , diplomacy , and negotiation, he earned a certain respect and fear among the natives . At the end of 1512 and the first months of 1513 , he arrived in a region dominated by the Cacique Careta (Tito Garcia) , whom he easily defeated and then befriended . Careta was baptized and became one of Balboa's chief allies . Entertaining adventure movie , plenty of action , thrills , colorful cinematography ; all meld together under Jose Maria Elorrieta's so-so direction . Ordinary filmmaking , mediocre budget and regular acting win out , but it results in an average adventure flick . It contains some spectacular battles with several expert stunts and little credible Indians . Evocative cinematography in Eastmancolor by Alfonso Nieva , shot in Ballesteros , CEA studios and Panama ; in fact producers thanksgivings to Panamá ambassador and Doctor Reverte . Atmospheric score , including a catching leitmotif by Contreras. The motion picture was middlingly directed by Jose Maria Elorrieta , a craftsman who had already filmed other adventures . He was a writer and director, known for Rosa De Lima (1961), Muchachas En Vacaciones (1958) , The Hawk of Castile (67) and many other films until his early death at 53. As Elorrieta had prolific career , working from the 40s to 70s he directed all kind of genres such as Terror : ¨Escalofrío Diabólico¨, ¨La LLamada Del Vampiro¨, ¨El Espectro del Terror¨, ¨Las Amantes Del Diablo¨; Western : ¨Los Siete De Pancho Villa¨, Fuerte Perdido¨ with German Cobos , and adventures as ¨La Muchacha Del Nilo¨, El Tesoro De Makuba¨, ¨La Esclava Del Paraíso¨ and ¨Hawk of Castile¨. The picture is based upon historical events : Vasco Nuñez attempted to arrive in Catay , Cipango and Molucas islands ; he , then , crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World . Balboa received the unexpected news of a new kingdom – rich in gold – with great interest . He returned to Santa María at the beginning of 1513 to recruit more men from Hispaniola. Using information given by various friendly Caciques , Balboa started his journey across the Isthmus of Panama on September 1, 1513, together with 190 Spaniards , a few native guides, and a pack of dogs. Using a small brigantine and ten native canoes , they sailed along the coast and made landfall in Cacique Careta's territory . The expedition now reinforced with 1,000 of Careta's men entered Cacique Ponca's land . Ponca had reorganized and attacked, but he was defeated and forced to ally himself with Balboa . After a few days, and with several of Ponca's men, the expedition entered the dense jungle on September 20, and, with some difficulty , arrived four days later in the lands of cacique Torecha, who ruled in the village of Cuarecuá . In this village, a fierce battle took place, during which Torecha was defeated and killed in battle. His followers decided to join the expedition . However, the group was by then exhausted and several men were badly wounded , so many decided to stay in Cuarecuá to regain their strength . The few men who continued the journey with Balboa entered the mountain range along the Chucunaque River the next day . According to information from the natives , one could see the South Sea from the summit of this range . Balboa went ahead and, before noon that day , September 25, he reached the summit and saw, far away in the horizon , the waters of the undiscovered sea . The emotions were such that the others eagerly joined in to show their joy at Balboa's "discovery". Andrés De Vera, the expedition's chaplain , intoned the Te Deum , while the men erected stone pyramids, and engraved crosses on the barks of trees with their swords, to mark the place where the "discovery" of the South Sea was made .

Frank Latimore is cast as Balboa, the heroic Spanish explorer who discovers the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, he must pacify the wrath of his enemies and battle his way through a forest inhabited by savage natives. This one features some really nice battles, stunning ocean photography, and tolerable reconstruction of historic events. The romance between the Balboa and the Indian queen is of course fake, but adds to the drama and spectacle of it all.