Mexico magic.
Viva México! Sit back to savor traveling with award-winning actor, director, producer Eva Longoria, who heads south to scoop up delectable travel-and-food favorites in Searching for Mexico, a new six-episode CNN Original Series, premiering March 26. Born and reared in Texas with Mexican heritage, Longoria showcases this close-to-her-heart country that she deems her second home, where she also met her husband, José “Pepe” Bastón. A popular tourism destination for Americans, Mexico is embraced by Longoria, who spotlights its sightseeing jewels, picturesque landscapes, cultural amazements, visionary personalities and behind-the-scenes stories, while devouring diverse dishes in Mexico City, Yucatan, Oaxaca, Nuevo Leon, Jalisco and Veracruz. “All I know is that every time I eat Mexican food, I am happy,” she exclaims. Co-executive produced by Longoria and Stanley Tucci — whose own CNN show Searching for Italy won Emmys for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series in 2021 and 2022 — Searching for Mexico might have you cheering: Olé! Here, its trailer and some episode snapshots to whet your appetite.
Episode 1: Mexico City
Longoria begins Searching for Mexico’s journey in this largest of North American cities. There are countless ways to be wooed by its rousing music, murals and morsels. She joins food writer Gabriela Rentería on a fun taco-athon, as they dash to dine on generously filled tortillas. If you think that you know tacos based on what is generally served in the U.S.A., surprises await. Mexico City has long attracted people from all over the world, who have brought their origin country’s culinary influences. Thus, Mexican food is an amalgam of global exchange. Taco fusions are vibrantly varied, such as tacos al pastor (with spit-grilled slices of pork), a concept introduced by Lebanese immigrants who imported shawarma (spit-grilled lamb served on pita bread). Even in Mexico City’s newest district of Little Tokyo, Japanese-Mexican ingredients are combined. For sweets, she recommends concha (round sweet bread that resembles a seashell) at her choicest neighborhood bakery. Longoria also treats Santi, her four-year-old son, to hot chocolate and churros (fried choux pastry dough).
Sweet churros and spiced Mexican hot chocolate.
Mexico City’s historic center impresses. Constitution Plaza, also called El Zócalo, is minutes away from National Palace (the official residence of Mexico’s president) with lauded paintings by Diego Rivera; baroque Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City (construction began in 1573 and continued for 250 years); and 13th-century Aztec Temple — the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan. With Eduardo “Lalo” Garcia, one of Mexico’s esteemed chefs, Longoria boats through a network of ancient Aztec-built canals and small islands to view the floating gardens of Xochimilco. It airs: March 26.
Longoria and stellar Chef Gabriela Cámara cook together at her restaurant in Mexico City.
Episode 2: Yucatan
On the east coast of Mexico, along Gulf waters and in jungles of Yucatan, Longoria delves into significant contributions of ancient Maya — an accomplished civilization for millennia until 16th-century Spanish conquistadors arrived. The Maya’s astounding pyramids, such as those at Chichén Itzá, Uxmal and Tulum, are world renowned. She explores how the Mayan essence is kept alive today through their cherished recipes. Chef Roberto Solis, mastermind of New Yucatan Cuisine, dazzles with imaginative pushing-the-envelope fare. In the city of Merida, his new restaurant Hunik, meaning “unique spirit” in Mayan, pays tribute to intricate spice combos, such as negro recado — a charred, smoky, aromatic chili sauce. Many of the best Yucatan dishes require a devoted, lengthy preparation process. For example, conchinita pibil is pork slow-roasted in a rock-lined underground pit for eight hours. It airs: April 2.
Scrumptious Mexican salads.
Episode 3: Oaxaca
“Do you believe in magic?” asks Longoria. “I didn’t until Oaxaca cast its spell on me.” She travels to southern Mexico’s Oaxaca, tucked among mountains and the Pacific Ocean to the south. “A bewitching place, where culinary wonders are conjured,” she continues. Oaxaca is both a state and a city. Since pre-Hispanic times, trade routes from South America funneled a multitude of ingredients north, criss-crossing through Oaxaca, endowing it with far-flung culinary gifts. “Oaxaca is a mecca for food lovers in the know,” Longoria adds.
Expressive art in Oaxaca.
The pioneering chef who has put Oaxacan cuisine on the contemporary global-gourmand map is Alejandro Ruiz, whose Casa Oaxaca restaurant salutes the region’s produce. His bespoke, cacao-centric mole negro sauce — complex, silky, smooth, sophisticated — has 28 ingredients. Longoria and Ruiz make mole together in his kitchen; later, it is served with turkey, as is traditional in Oaxaca, on Ruiz’s rooftop terrace. Called the “food of the gods,” chocolate is a cornerstone of Oaxacan gastronomy. Next, food writer and passionate cheese fan Omar Alonzo navigates Longoria to the town of Reyes Etla, where full-fat quesillo cheese, Oaxaca’s beloved export, is produced. At restaurant Las Quince Letras, innovative Chef Celia Florian creates an in-demand finger food, in which a hand-size Hoja Santa leaf — which has natural flavors of anise, eucalyptus, mint — is topped with torn quesillo and crunchy roasted (protein-rich) grasshoppers, then folded, heated, cut and rolled into bite-size portions; edible flowers and drizzles of pesto sauce dress the pretty plate. Longoria at first seems cautious about eating the grasshoppers, then concurs that the dish’s textures and flavors complement each other well.
Longoria and Felina Santiago stir a pineapple filling in Oaxaca.
Ancient Zapotecs thrived in the Oaxaca region called Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the narrowest stretch of land between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Today, guardians of Zapotec cuisine are known as Muxes, who are recognized as a third gender. “We are people of two spirits,” says Felina Santiago (above). “We are the duality, neither man or woman, neither less or more.” Their culture has given them a sense of freedom. “It has been a privilege for me to spend time with the Muxes, who’ve forged their own path in Oaxaca,” says Longoria. They wear traditional dress, elaborately embroidered with flowers. Stuffed pork is a favored dish, served with casserole-like mashed potatoes loaded with ample amounts of garlic, spring onions, carrots, eggs, butter and heavy cream. As Longoria helps the Muxes manually mix the ingredients with their hands, she remarks, “This is a workout!” Special occasion meals can include armadillo, iguana and mountain pigeon.
Wood-fired clay oven.
Tomatoes, too, originate from South America. They were traded through Mexico, then Spaniards took them to Europe. In Mexico, the birthplace of maize, more than 60 different species flourish. Corn is central to Mexican cooking and identity. An hour drive from Oaxaca City, the farming community of Santa Ana Zegáche is corn’s epicenter. It has been cultivated there for more than 6,000 years. Longoria visits a family farm, pointing to its cobs of burgundy, dark yellow and white kernels. Another prime Oaxacan export is mezcal liquor, made from the agave plant. Longoria eagerly pitches in at a San Baltazar Chichicapam agave farm — run by a woman, a rarity. After agave plants are harvested and machete-cut, they are cooked in a covered firey pit, which can take up to five days, then mashed and milled to obtain an agave juice, fermented, distilled twice, casked (depending on intent of aging) and finally bottled. It airs: April 9.
Episode 4: Nuevo Leon
Mexico’s northeastern state of Nuevo Leon borders Texas, southwest of Corpus Christi. Much of its rugged, dry mountainous terrain is inhospitable to fruit and vegetable farming. Instead, meat is on most menus; beef and cabrito (baby goat) are widely available. Open-flame cooking and barbecues are venerated. Ranch-style beans and breakfast tacos are staples. Longoria attends a festive carne asada event to relish local aguja steak. She tastes tender goat with flour tortillas that may derive from a Sephardic Jewish tradition — and she helps assemble venison tamales for her film crew.
Mexico's colorful buildings please the eye.
Many Nuevo Leon chefs astonish with their out-of-the-box creativity. For example, at Koli Cocina de Origen in the city of Monterrey, Longoria studies the cutting-edge, excelling menus of three talented brothers: Chef Rodrigo Rivera Rio, Pastry Chef Daniel Rivera Rio and Maître d'/Sommelier Patricio Rivera Rio. Intent on their restaurant having an uplifting family grace, they chose the name Koli, meaning “grandfather” in Náhuatl, the language of Aztecs who ruled Mexico between the 14th and 16th centuries. Not well known as a language outside of Mexico, Náhuatl is still fluently spoken today by approximately 1.5-million Mexicans — and, in fact, some Náhuatl words, such as avocado, chipotle, chocolate, coyote, guacamole, mezcal and tomato have been incorporated into the English language. It airs: April 16.
Episode 5: Jalisco
On Mexico’s west coast, bordered by six states — Aguascalientes, Colima, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Michoacán and Zacatecas — Jalisco is often considered the most quintessentially Mexican. Traditions such as mariachi bands, ranchera music, charro cowboys and tequila originated there. Its Pacific beaches are beauties, enticing travelers to swanky resorts, particularly in Puerto Vallarta. Lively Guadalajara is the capital; its plazas, neoclassical Teatro Degollado (theater) and golden-spired cathedral charm. Longoria tastes prominent dishes, such as birria, a slow-heated goat stew, and torta ahogada, a sourdough sandwich filled with pork, a legacy from French invasions. Pop-up eateries and polished restaurants proliferate these days, led by energetic chefs. At superb Café Pa’l Real, Chef Fabian Delgado has brainstormed a novel mole, using Mexican and European ingredients. Longoria then steers toward Jalisco’s region of Tequila to toast the national drink. She also talks with the fiercely proud indigenous Coca people. It airs: April 23.
Magnetic chefs are transforming menus.
Episode 6: Veracruz
Along the warm Gulf Coast, the eastern state of Veracruz — just 60 miles wide, stretching 400 miles long — is known as the cradle of the modern-day country of Mexico. Spanish conquistadors first landed on its shores. Soon thereafter, Veracruz became a very active trading hub: Spaniards imported coffee, oranges, pork and spices; Mexicans exported a wealth of coveted foodstuff, including tomatoes, chocolate and vanilla. A treasure trove of ingredients coming and going remixed and ignited whole new cuisines. Can you imagine Italy without the tomato? France without chocolate and vanilla?
Mexico's abundant greenery.
In a fascinating Searching for Mexico trajectory, Longoria retraces the path of her ancestor, Lorenzo Longoria, who set foot in Veracruz 400 years ago.
Today, Veracruzanos are famous for their feisty defiance and resilience. Women are strong, increasingly striving for independence and leadership roles. Making a positive impact on Veracruz’s fishing industry is Chef Erik Guerrero Arias, who has encouraged sustainability and expanded the range of consumable fish species. With Longoria, he makes a cold seafood ceviche that is “disrupted” with warm refried beans and drizzled avocado oil. Longoria then drives to coffee fields in verdant mountains, to learn how shade, altitude and cool temps boost better crops. She visits a major vanilla farm, which has been owned by one family since 1873 and now, for the first time, is headed by a woman, Norma Gaya. The entrepreneur shows Longoria how to cook delicious chicken with prized vanilla, braised onions, and nata — a thick butter-like cream that forms on the top of raw milk, which is then boiled. For dessert? Heated bananas are doused in artisanal vanilla liqueur and served with homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Hungry yet? It airs: April 23.
