On March 26, 2023, Longoria debuted her new CNN show, “Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico”, which is modeled after the very successful “Searching for Italy with Stanley Tucci”. She is both host and executive producer of the series.

The series consists of six episodes, each exploring a different location in Mexico, including Jalisco, Mexico City, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Yucatan. Throughout the show, Longoria immerses herself in the rich culture, landscape, and history of Mexico, which have all played a significant role in shaping its world-renowned cuisine.

There are plenty of star chefs in the series, but Eva Longoria is unusually mindful of the stories of simple people like Ponciano Méndez, a farmer from Santa Ana Zegache, a town one hour from the capital of Oaxaca. In the valley where Ponciano lives, corn has been planted for more than six thousand years; In the neighboring valley, the oldest maize remains of humanity were found.

I truly love the show and was eager to learn more about Eva’s experiences of visiting indigenous communities and eating a traditional decolonized diet.

Before the Spanish conquest, Mexico was a predominantly vegetarian territory.