Eva Longoria: Buscando a México

Eva Longoria does a travel show on CNN. She is following Stanley Tucci's footsteps who went to Italy for two seasons. She is obviously invested in the show and in Mexico. She is dressed to the nines in most episodes. Sometimes she's more casual, but it is odd to have her stylish looks overwhelm some random everyday working people. I hate to call her out on her clothing choices. She can do less jewelry and less with her nails in the poorer places. She needs to fit in with her subjects like the working poor at a local taco stand. I want her nails plain so that she can grab the food with gusto. Mostly, I want her to dig in and fit in with whoever she's with. She's always worried about spillage on her nice outfits and that's not great for a food show.

Overall the show is decent, but Eva doesn't come across very natural. I feel like she is acting. She talks about her "Mexican American" roots but she seems to misspeak in a few areas as she refers to regions like "The Yucatán" or kept repeating the term "Chilango" over and over again. Chilango is a slur in Mexico regardless what she says. She kept on calling them that over and over like she was trying to sell she was "authentic" and understood the people.

The last episode in Guadalajara showed a guy using a can of ranch style beans for his recipe and it didn't cover the city as it could have been. She ain't no Tucci.

This show is obviously a homage to the "Searching for Italy" which itself was suggested by the Anthony Bourdain series. I wasn't very impressed with either of those shows but I do travel a lot and so I watch them initially but eventually their personalities prevent me from continuing. This show did the opposite. In the first few shows Longoria got on my nerves. She was so conscious of looking good and saying the right thing that it annoyed me and distracted from what should be the focus of the show - the food, the people, and the place. To my surprise, she changed. She's able to focus on the people and the food and the show is now one of my favorites travel shows and sits just behind Huell Howser's. So if you start and you're a little put off, hang in there and it gets much better.

This was a pleasant surprise! I loved Stanley Gucci's series showcasing Italy and the beautiful regions of that country, it was only fitting that Mexico would be up next. I was a bit apprehensive that it would be a Mexican-American that would do it, but if an Italian-American can do a good job, so can she!

The first batch of episodes were great. Starting with the cosmopolitan Mexico City, where she talks about the street food culture to the hip scenes in La Roma and Condesa to the immigrant communities finding a home there today from the global south to the older communities like Italian and Japanese in Roma and Little Tokyo neighbourhoods.

Yucatán episode was a delight, with the Mayan presence and the majestic Merida and the influences that came from the sea like Dutch cheese and Spanish techniques and architecture.

Nuevo León was a standout. With its Sephardic Jewish roots and cowboy culture, the kings of Cabrito made a splash with urban and modern Monterrey and the beautiful towns outside the city surrounded by orange groves.

Oaxaca was the least interesting episode but it was saved by the Muxe culture (2 spirit people) which was very interesting. It was the least interesting cuisine in my opinion.

Jalisco was up next. Guadalajara is such a beautiful city and the surrounding areas are just as impressive! Even though she went to the town of Tequila...the real heart and soul of Mexico are in the beautiful Los Altos de Jalisco region where the charro bravado is the symbol of Mexican resilience!

Closing with Veracruz...one of the most diverse states in the country! Where millions of people entered Mexico in the last centuries to make Mexico their home, either by choice or not, since they talk about Mexico's African roots and the beautiful La Huaca neighbourhood and cuisine. The Spanish influence in the cuisine can't be denied. The indigenous roots. But I was pleasantly surprised when she went north to see the vainilla plantations where the Gaya family have become the kings and queens of vainilla and they come from a legacy of Italian immigration into the region that is still very strong today! And the mansion they show in the end is from the French migration in the region as well, el Proal. I was very surprised but they should have delved more into that!

I can't wait to see more of this series! Mexico has 32 states so this should be interesting and hopefully we see more! I'm very excited to see Eva showcase states like: Sonora, Michoacán, Aguascalientes, Baja California, Puebla, Sinaloa and Querétaro! Cheers!

I learnt a lot about Mexico and their amazing food. Makes me want to got to Mexico City right away. If you are an amateur chef you would also get some great ideas for new recipes.

I was amazed at the featured chefs, their passion and the creation. The nest of the lot for me was the one who made the onion fritters with the blackened cilli paste.

The show would have been a lot more informative with a host more proficient about food. The host needs to get into the food, provide descriptions that are more vivid. Like Andrew Zimmern. Not just "fabulous and amazing". Even Stanley Tucci did a reasonably good job with Searching for Italy.