CBS Announces New One-Hour Special “Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event,” A Celebration of Latinx Culture in America, Hosted by Gloria Estefan, Eva Longoria and Ricky Martin, to Be Broadcast Monday, October 26

CBS announced today a new one-hour entertainment special, ESSENTIAL HEROES: A MOMENTO LATINO EVENT, a celebration of Latinx culture in America, produced and hosted by Eva Longoria, along with co-hosts Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin, to be broadcast Monday, October 26 (9:00-10:00PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. It will also be available to stream live and on-demand on CBS All Access. Produced by Funny Or Die, in partnership with Momento Latino, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, and Global Philanthropy, the special will honor the contributions of the Latinx community to the United States and their importance to its future.

ESSENTIAL HEROES: A MOMENTO LATINO EVENT will celebrate America’s diversity with a focus on Latinx culture, bringing joy, awareness, and aid to the Latinx community that has been deeply impacted by and played an essential role in fighting COVID-19. Through musical performances, comedy pieces, docu-shorts, and star-studded appearances, the special will explore the Latinx experience as told by Latinx voices. Performers and participants will be announced closer to air.

“When COVID-19 hit the United States, people were quick to applaud our essential workers, many of whom are Latinos, for helping to keep food on our tables, delivering our packages and working in our healthcare system,” said Eva Longoria. “The Latinx community has been the backbone of this country for hundreds of years, not just the last seven months, and it’s time that we not only know our own worth, but are also recognized, appreciated and celebrated accordingly for our contributions, pandemic or not.”

“We created Momento Latino because we understand the challenges that Latinos in America face every day, and we knew we had to bring together a national infrastructure of opportunity to move the community forward into the future,” said Henry R. Muñoz III, founder of Momento Latino. “We’ve brought together more than 130 organizations, nonprofits, artists, activists and community leaders so far, and through this special we can share with the nation the inspiring stories of how Latinos served as the backbone of this country’s essential workforce throughout the pandemic despite being among the hardest hit by the disease and the economic fallout.”

ESSENTIAL HEROES: A MOMENTO LATINO EVENT is created by Henry R. Muñoz III. The special is produced by Funny Or Die, Momento Latino, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Global Philanthropy. Executive producers are Henry Muñoz for Momento Latino; Eva Longoria and Ben Spector for UnbeliEVAble Entertainment; Maggie Neilson for Global Philanthropy; and Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, Jim Ziegler, Moira Noriega, Gloria Medel Solomons and R.A. Clark for Funny Or Die. The special is directed by Ron de Moraes.

About Funny Or Die

Funny Or Die is a premiere entertainment brand and comedy studio that creates award-winning comedy. Known for its celebrity driven and topical content, Funny Or Die reaches a global audience of more than 45 million people, and is the #1 comedy brand on both Facebook and Twitter. Funny Or Die’s Emmy Award-winning long-form division produces shows like the critically-acclaimed Brockmire for IFC, Emmy nominated Billy on the Street, the Peabody award-winning American Vandal for Netflix, the Emmy nominated Sarah Silverman series I Love You, America for Hulu and No Activity for CBS All Access. Funny Or Die produced two feature films, “Between Two Ferns: The Movie” for Netflix, and “Impractical Jokers: The Movie.” FOD also makes award-winning TV commercials and Branded Content for all verticals and many Fortune 500 Companies from soft drinks to automobiles and toilet paper.

About UnbeliEVAble Entertainment

Founded in 2005 by actor, producer, director, and activist Eva Longoria who partnered with producer Ben Spector in 2015, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment produces film, television and documentaries. Currently under a deal at 20th Television, the company chooses purposeful projects that accurately represent the stories of Latinx and other underrepresented communities. UnbeliEVAble has a strong track record of producing Latinx content including ABC’s Grand Hotel, which was the first major network drama to feature a majority Latinx cast and female directors, and NBC’s Telenovela. It was recently announced that the company will partner with ViacomCBS’ Entertainment & Youth Group for their First Time Directors program highlighting BIPOC and women filmmakers to produce 50 films across the group’s portfolio of networks and streaming services. Longoria and her team will soon produce Before I Forget for Amazon, the multi-generational drama Chicano centering on a Mexican-American family that immigrates to Los Angeles in pursuit of the American Dream for ABC, and the HBO film A Class Apart, with Robert Rodriguez directing, which tells the incredible true story of a group of Mexican Americans fighting for their civil rights during a landmark case that leads all the way to the Supreme Court. Past projects from UnbeliEVAble include the Emmy Award nominated Netflix documentary Reversing Roe, ESPN’s 30 for 30 series Versus, and the Lionsgate film John Wick.

About Global Philanthropy Group

Global Philanthropy Group advises the world’s leading philanthropists. Informed by our breadth of experience and data-driven approach, we work with individuals, charitable foundations and corporations to design and implement highly-leveraged philanthropic strategies. Our management expertise and proprietary network of global experts help our clients achieve lasting, meaningful results. For more information, please visit http://www.globalphilanthropy.com/.

About Momento Latino

Momento Latino is a growing coalition of activists, leaders, nonprofits and artists lifting our voices and pushing for change for the Latinx community. COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated longstanding inequalities, and has had a disproportionate effect on the Latino community’s health, education and economic stability. But with crisis comes opportunity: together, we can create real change. Our partners – more than 130 activists, artists, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups and corporate leaders – are working together to build an America where the Latinx community can reach out full potential. For more information, visit https://momentolatino.us/ and follow us on Instagram at @momento_latino.

RATING: To Be Announced