Eva Longoria: Searching For Mexico

[DanaK]

CNN will premiere the 6-part doc series on Sunday March 26 at 10pm ET. It will then settle into its regular 9pm slot on subsequent Sundays. The show follows actress/producer Eva Longoria through the many vibrant regions of Mexico, the land of her ancestors, in search of its unique and colorful cuisines. The show is executive produced by Stanly Tucci

https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2023/02/16/cnn-original-series-to-premiere-eva-longoria-searching-for-mexico-sunday-march-26-at-10pm-et-pt-on-cnn/

Given CNN is trying to bring most of its documentaries and doc series in-house, I wonder if this will even get a second season?

[DanaK]

Trailer

 

[Scarlett45]

Shallow bus- Eva Longoria is so beautiful. 

[aghst]

They are not ashamed at all that this is kind of a paint by numbers show using the template of Searching for Italy.

They use the same graphics and the same opening narration talks about how many Mexican states, possibly laying out a roadmap for how the show will be structured, visiting each region per episode.  Eva cites some rudimentary stats like Stanley, who's also executive producer, did on his show.

She meets with chefs, food bloggers and so on to introduce each place or the food scene and they try to cover the expensive restaurant as well as street food or prepared food from food markets made by poor people and immigrants, not affluent restauranteurs who cater mostly to upper middle class or rich people.

Again, similar ground to what Stanley covered in some of the SFI episodes.

Eva is more expressive and outgoing than Stanley, who's in comparison more reserved.  Her taste reactions are more expressive, maybe tending more on exaggeration if Stanley sometimes struggled to say something novel or memorable.

Difference in personalities, she's younger and more energetic, can pose and flash smiles for the camera.  Though maybe a lot has to do with her knowing some of the food scene in Mexico City, which she says is her second home, and also knowing some of the restaurant owners.

It was interesting to know about how much immigration they've had, including from outside North and South America.  So the Middle Eastern influence on Al Pastor tacos was surprising to learn, at least for me.

But every large city in the world have some kind of fusion dining scene of some kind as well as large ethnic communities feeding into new combinations of culinary traditions.

Eva talked about hitting all these street taco stands but the first part of the episode it was all about these fancier restaurants in nice upscale neighborhoods, often run by chefs trained in Europe, who are always going to make new creations combining European and Mexican cuisine.

But I did like the story of that one chef with whom Eva picked out plants and prepared that salad with beets.  He appears entirely self-taught and learned in the US, while being undocumented, then returned to Mexico to open his own place.

Later she does go to the food markets and try out some street food.

 

So here are all the place she went to in the Mexico City episode.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/eva-longoria-searching-for-mexico-restaurants/index.html

You can't tell from her reactions which places were "the best" out of this list, guess all you can do is try them all.

 

 

 

 

[Yeah No]

I watched the first episode.  I think Eva Longoria is beautiful but she is a little over the top sometimes.  I feel like she's "acting" at times for the camera's sake, not being completely genuine, and putting the focus on herself more than the people she's talking to.  I hope that she works all that out as the episodes progress.  Also, neither my husband nor I heard her formally explain what a "Chilango" is, so I'm wondering if she ever did.  I sort-of figured it out in context but for several minutes we were scratching our heads.  I eventually had to Google it.  

That said, I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  I don't know much about Mexico and I love its food so I'm finding this so far informative and interesting.   I'm still bummed that CNN chose to cancel "Searching for Italy".  It feels like this show was its replacement.  I hope Stanley turns up with a new season soon on another network.

[Rickster]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I watched the first episode.  I think Eva Longoria is beautiful but she is a little over the top sometimes.  I feel like she's "acting" at times for the camera's sake, not being completely genuine, and putting the focus on herself more than the people she's talking to.  I hope that she works all that out as the episodes progress.  Also, neither my husband nor I heard her formally explain what a "Chilango" is, so I'm wondering if she ever did.  I sort-of figured it out in context but for several minutes we were scratching our heads.  I eventually had to Google it.  

That said, I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  I don't know much about Mexico and I love its food so I'm finding this so far informative and interesting.   I'm still bummed that CNN chose to cancel "Searching for Italy".  It feels like this show was its replacement.  I hope Stanley turns up with a new season soon on another network.

I’m pretty sure she explained Chilango as a term for someone from Mexico City.

I’m sort of torn on this, based on the first episode. Eva is less serious and lacks some gravitas that Stanley had. Stanley seemed to have some expertise in Italian food where Eva seems more of a fan. While I know quite a bit about Italian food, I know a lot less about Mexico and Mexican food and while I’m learning stuff in this show, I’d appreciate a deeper dive than we’re getting.

 

[aghst]

Well it’s the producers and staff who research the food scene and trends, do the legwork of approaching chefs, restaurants, testing dishes and getting agreements to film on premises, access to chefs on camera, getting waivers signed.

The foods and places shown on these shows are not all picked by the hosts.  They may recommend one or two of their personal favorites but it takes a lot of work to produce each of these segments.

They may be turned down by places, maybe even some of the most popular places, which don’t need promotion.

The staff also write the copy narrated by the hosts, script how the scenes are filmed, maybe even choose the dishes that the hosts are shown helping to prepare and taste on camera.

Now in this case, Eva and Stanley are executive producers so they get final say on what they shoot or actually end up on the show.  But depending on how much hands on work they do in pre production planning or in the editing room, the finished product we see is the result of decisions and work done by staff behind the scenes.

Since the shows are under their names and they’re on camera all the time, Eva and Stanley care about the episodes they air.  OTOH, they have several other projects which they work on and have only so many hours to devote to these particular shows.  So how much do they grind and spend dozens of hours in additIon to the hours they spend to shoot the scenes for the shows?  Probably not a whole lot, they mostly come and shoot and all the planning for the scenes are already done by staff.  Now if they want to be divas, they can demand a lot of changes which delay the shooting schedule and cost them more money, but since they’re EPs, they’re probably conscious of the bottom line.

[Yeah No]

14 hours ago, Rickster said:

I’m pretty sure she explained Chilango as a term for someone from Mexico City.

I’m sort of torn on this, based on the first episode. Eva is less serious and lacks some gravitas that Stanley had. Stanley seemed to have some expertise in Italian food where Eva seems more of a fan. While I know quite a bit about Italian food, I know a lot less about Mexico and Mexican food and while I’m learning stuff in this show, I’d appreciate a deeper dive than we’re getting.

One reason I loved Tony Bourdain's shows is because as a chef he had more than just a "fan" interest in food and if he didn't know something about a certain type of cuisine he at least had more food knowledge in general and could transfer his knowledge more easily.  Stanley isn't a chef but as you say, he seems to have more of a background in Italian food than Eva does in Mexican food.

Several years ago chef Rick Bayless did a series called "Mexico, One Plate at a Time" on PBS.  I found it very fascinating and educational because going into it I didn't know much about Mexican food.

[aghst]

Yucatán episode:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/eva-longoria-searching-for-mexico-restaurants/index.html

 

I don’t even like pork and I’m tRying to avoid salt but Yucatan looked cool.  Good mix of very high end and affordable restaurants.

Not sure how many of the colorful dishes I’d eat but maybe I’d sample some.

First two episodes are making me look into a visit — I’ve never been either but it’s not the usual view of party resorts that you get in HHI episodes.

Edited April 3, 2023 by aghst

[Yeah No]

The Yucatan episode was very well done in almost every way but Eva continues to feel like chalk on a blackboard with her loud, OTT exclamations and expressions.  I only saw her once before on "Finding Your Roots" but never really got a sense for her personality until this show.  I really thought I'd like her more, what can I say?

I did enjoy the scenery and learning more about the food and culture.  Plus I'm amazed at how much Spanish I understand even without the subtitles.  Most of the Mexicans on the show so far speak slowly and clearly enough for me to understand them, unlike most Caribbeans, who speak much faster and with a lot of slurring and idioms.  I knew next to nothing about the Yucatan until now and I must say it seems like a fascinating place.

I'm also looking forward to the next episode because Oaxaca is a foodie paradise as I learned when Rick Bayless went there on his show, "Mexico One Plate at a Time".

[aghst]

Oaxaca episode:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/eva-longoria-searching-for-mexico-restaurants/index.html

 

I wonder how popular Oaxaca is relative to other Mexican states.  Obviously a lot of Americans go down for the resorts, especially the coastal ones.

Can you get the colorful produce in these popular coastal regions or you have to go to Oaxaca to try black or purple corn or the rippled  (they called it kidney-shaped) tomatoes?

 

OK, so what's the deal with the both male and female people?  I think they called them muche or something that sounds like it?  They looked like Frida Kahlo, with the hair put up in a bunch and the bold eyebrows.

But the dishes they cooked up looked interesting, full of garlic, pineapples, etc.

Eva can put away some rich dishes, despite being petite.  Not to cast aspersions but is she keeping it all down, including the grasshopper with cheese thing?

 

 

[Yeah No]

This episode did not disappoint.  I learned something new every 5 minutes.  And Eva was quite a bit more tolerable this week, too.

I had never even thought of corn on the cob soup but here it was.  And that mole looked out of this world.  The looks on Eva's face told how blown away she was by the food.

I'm having a great time realizing how much Spanish I still remember!

That colored corn is available at New England at garden shops.  Back in the day we used to put 3 cobs/colors tied up in a sort-of "wreath" on our front doors in the Fall.

On 4/10/2023 at 1:21 AM, aghst said:

OK, so what's the deal with the both male and female people?  I think they called them muche or something that sounds like it?  They looked like Frida Kahlo, with the hair put up in a bunch and the bold eyebrows.

I found a Wikipedia page on them.  Another fascinating aspect of the culture in Oaxaca that I knew nothing about until now.

On 4/10/2023 at 1:21 AM, aghst said:

Eva can put away some rich dishes, despite being petite.  Not to cast aspersions but is she keeping it all down, including the grasshopper with cheese thing?

Hah!  I thought the same thing.  I asked my husband if he thought maybe she had a secret "spit bucket" like Giada DeLaurentis was rumored to use when judging cooking competitions.

[Yeah No]

Wow, it's been crickets here since the last episode.  Did everybody bail on this?

[One Imaginary Girl]

It was surprising to see Eva wearing a lot of white in the Yucatan episode.  I would never have the nerve, but maybe she's a more skilled taco eater than I am.  It still must have been kind of messy, though, when a lot of the cooking there involves underground pits.  I know she has a glamorous image to maintain, but from the Nuevo Leon episode, it looks like she can still be kind of practical.  

The important thing, however: all of the food (except grasshoppers--sorry) looks fantastic.  It makes me laugh to think about if I hosted a show like this.  Could England, Ireland, Poland, and Germany turn out anything like it?

Edited April 18, 2023 by One Imaginary Girl

[DonnaMae]

This is part fashion/part food series with all her changing dresses.  

[aghst]

The Nuevo Leon episodes.

I would never have guessed so much meat is consumed.  I thought authentic Mexican cuisine wouldn't be so meat-heavy, especially beef.

But in Eva's narration, certain cattle breeds were introduced in Mexico by the Spaniards in like the 15 or 1600s.

They salt everything before cooking, probably add salt to the dish afterwards.

Wonder what the life expectancy and incidence of heart disease in that region is compared to other parts of Mexico.

Flour tortillas, at least the ones you get at the store, are also loaded with salt.

[aghst]

Jalisco episode restaurants

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/eva-longoria-searching-for-mexico-restaurants

 

So they touched a little about the mestizo question, referenced how the revolutionary and civil wars secured the place of mestizos in Mexican society and nation.

But how well are mixed and indigenous peoples treated in modern Mexico compared to people who are more clearly of European descent?

How do the different demographics fare in employment opportunities, earning, education, etc. relative to each other?

The show has featured both fancy sit-down restaurants which appeal to more well-heeled clientele, including probably affluent American tourists, as well as these modest places which might be for campesinos.  I still remember the one episode where one of the women traveled by bus for hours from her village to a larger city, to have a food stand outside of a market.

I suspect the viewers of this show, if they traveled to Mexico, would frequent restaurants more.  Maybe try some street food here and there but would be attracted to nicely decorated restaurants which look like places they'd visit in the US or Europe.

But as they noted on this episode, the average income is like $13 a day so only Mexicans with incomes comparable to Americans would be going to the fancier restaurants with internationally-trained chefs featured on the show.  Or American tourists.

 

[andromeda331]

Eva is beautiful but I wish she'd stop wearing white. I spend most of the episodes worried she's going to drop something on it. 

Yucatan was beautiful. So was Veracruz. That pyramid was so cool.

[aghst]

Another celebrity gets into the food game though I’m not sure this is travel related.

 

 

 

[gingerella]

Meh. I couldn't even get through one episode of this. Watching Eva Longoria is like watching paint dry. This is nothing like the Italy version so I have to surmise it's Eva.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, gingerella said:

Meh. I couldn't even get through one episode of this. Watching Eva Longoria is like watching paint dry. This is nothing like the Italy version so I have to surmise it's Eva.

Recently I told my husband that watching Bob Ross's Joy of Painting is as boring as watching paint dry - oh wait......😄

[aghst]

CNN will air Searching for Spain next year with Eva, who has been living in Spain with her family.

Interesting, Stanley Tucci’s new show will also debut next year.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

Interesting, Stanley Tucci’s new show will also debut next year.

Yes, his show will air on Nat Geo. Air date TBD.

[andromeda331]

That's great!