Desperate Children Are Eva Longoria's New Passion in 'The Harvest'

Twenty-five percent of the food we eat in the United States is harvested by children, Eva Longoria said in a phone interview from the set of "Desperate Housewives," now shooting its final season.

Every year, more than 400,000 children work in U.S. fields, according to a new documentary she lent her support to called "The Harvest."

Longoria is supporting the documentary about child migrant laborers not just because of her Latin American roots but also because she wants to know where her food comes from and take responsibility for it.

In the United States, harvesting work tends to be done by migrants of Latin American origin, but Longoria's interest in the subject didn't spring from that, but from the children who are growing up in the fields, the "Desperate Housewives" star says.

"I'm ninth-generation Mexican-American. We have ranches in Texas but you don't have to have that to have compassion," Longoria said. "I eat food and I'm a responsible human being and if you are responsible, you have to know where your food comes from."

"You have to be aware of the practices that are used to get the food we are eating," said the actress, who as executive producer of "The Harvest," raised nearly $1 million for the film, which will be released on DVD Tuesday.

"I've been involved with farm workers advocacy for a long time," she said, "but I recently found out, I didn't know there were so many children working legally in the fields."

"The Harvest" tells the story of three children who work as field laborers in Florida, Michigan and Texas to help their parents.

In the film, one of them, 12-year-old Zulema López, notes that she started working at such a young age, she doesn't even remember her first day. She adds that picking onions in Texas from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., she made $64 a week.

The child field workers work under an unforgiving sun and in paralyzing cold and run the same risks and suffer the same deprivations as adult laborers, the film shows. López, for example, recounts how she had to throw dirt on a wound to stop it from bleeding. The film also explains how migratory work makes it difficult for children to receive a proper education.

The film has been shown to members of Congress to put a face on a bill sponsored by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., that would raise the minimum age for field work in the U.S. from 12 to 14 years. It also seeks to create penalties for labor infractions against young field workers and reduce their exposure to pesticides.

"We want to use the film to change policy," Longoria said. "Children shouldn't have to choose between school and work."

Longoria says the most touching scene of the film for her is one in which López fears she'll have to work in the fields her entire life, remarking, "I don't even think about having dreams."

"That was heartbreaking," Longoria said. "Her grandmother works in the fields, her mother works in the fields, and she feels stuck and does not see herself leaving the fields."

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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Posted in 2011 eva longoria , 2011 the harvest documentary , Desperate Housewives , desperate houswives , Eva Longoria , latina , The Harvest

Eva Longoria, Tina Fey are Best-Paid TV Actresses, Forbes Says

Tina Fey and Eva Longoria are the best-paid U.S. television actresses, according to a list published by Forbes magazine, which places both women in a tie for first place with annual earnings of $13 million each.

The stars of "30 Rock" and "Desperate Housewives," respectively, made these earnings between May 2010 and May of this year, the publication said.

Fey is also the main scriptwriter and executive producer of the NBC comedy, and her book "Bossypants" sold 150,000 copies in the first month after it was published in April.

Meanwhile, Longoria is the best-paid actress on "Desperate Housewives" thanks to her endorsement deals with brands such as L'Oreal and LG.

Her castmates on the ABC production are also on the list of best-paid actresses.

Marcia Cross is in third place, with earnings of $10 million, while Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher are tied for fifth place, with $9 million each.

Two other actresses also occupy the third-place slot: Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU") and Marg Helgenberger ("CSI").

Rounding out the list are Courteney Cox and Ellen Pompeo, both with $7 million in income, and Julianna Margulies, with $6 million.

The figures on the Forbes list were calculated using data provided by attorneys, producers and agents to estimate the gross incomes of each of the actresses.

Source EFE

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Posted in 2011 Best Paid TV Actresses , 2011 BestPaid TV latina actress , ABC production , Desperate Housewives , Eva Longoria , forbes , NBC comedy

Eva Longoria on the End of 'Desperate Housewives': "Television is All About the Next, New, Best Thing"

It looks like the ladies of Wisteria Lane may have reached the end of their road. We're sad to say that it looks as though ABC will announce this weekend at the Television Critics Association's press tour that the 8th season (currently in production) will be the last for long-running Desperate Housewives. Castmembers are being told about the end of the series, and Deadline.com is reporting that Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Eva Longoria are surprised and saddened to hear the news. It's only natural for the cast to be shocked, especially since series creator Marc Cherry expected the show to run through nine seasons, it was the most-watched comedy series internationally in 2010, and ABC's third-highest revenue earning show.

We caught up with our favorite wife, Eva Longoria (aka Gabrielle Solis), at the recent National Council of La Raza conference and chatted to her about the show, Latinos on TV and the consistent Emmy snubs of Latina actresses.

Despite an acclaimed season, you were once again snubbed for an Emmy nod and there are just two Latino nominated—Sofia Vergara and Edgar Ramirez. What’s it going to take for Latinos to get more Emmy love?

I don’t know how else to say it, but they’re about ratings. So if a Latino or Latina lead is not on a hit show that is critically acclaimed, there are many obstacles for an actor of whatever color to be nominated. I think the biggest lesson for viewers and Latina’s readers is that if you’re not watching the shows, then you cannot complain that we’re not getting nominated. There was a reason that The George Lopez Show got cancelled: It didn’t have ratings and now it’s doing so well in syndication. And yet we have over 50 million Latinos in the United States that should have been watching The George Lopez Show. It’s the same with Latino films like Home For the Holidays, with John Leguizamo. It did not do well in theaters because Latinos did not go out and support it. Yet 30 percent of the audience of Pirates of the Caribbean was Latino. So if people want to see more diversity reflected in television and film, you have to support it.

Your breakthrough in Desperate Housewives was a big moment for Latinos on television. How would you characterize the state of diversity on television since then?

It has gotten better, but we take one step forward, two steps back. We have a character like mine and Lauren Velez’s [police Lt. Laguerta on Dexter]—these bright, smart women. Gabrielle was the richest person on the block. She doesn’t speak with an accent. Lauren Velez is a police chief who is doing amazing work. And then you have Sofia Vergara, who is the stereotypical Latina [Gloria on Modern Family] and she does it beautifully. It’s important that there those roles, because they all exist in our community. It’s a balance. So I think we’re slowly inching toward progress.



There has been talk that the upcoming season of Desperate Housewives may be its last. True?

Well, we’ve just started filming our new season; it’s exciting to be back. But beyond that, we don’t know because it’s all about ratings. Television is all about the next new best thing. But I’m going to be with this job as long as it will go.


Source Mariela Rosario

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Posted in ABC's third-highest revenue earning show , Desperate Housewives , Eva Longoria , Felicity Huffman , Latino films , Marcia Cross , Teri Hatcher , Top best 2011 Desperate Housewives

Longoria Fights for Kids Who Work in Farm Fields

Washington –  Mexican-American actress Eva Longoria expressed her support Sunday for the end of child labor and denounced the fact that in the United States, one of the world's richest countries, child laborers sometimes go to bed without having eaten.

"It's not China, it's not Mexico, it's the United States," the actress said.

Longoria presented the trailer of the documentary "The Harvest" about child workers in the United States during the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, or NCLR, the largest Hispanic organization in the country.

The actress, who is the documentary's executive producer, said she was committed to these children, who work harvesting vegetables and other crops 14 hours a day, seven days a week, some of them as young as 10.

In the United States, there are some 500,000 children who work in agriculture who are "badly paid" and are shunted into the vicious circle of exclusion, without education and without the basic services that all children should have a right to receive, Longoria said.

"Every time a Latino is recognized for their talent, the image of Latinos changes for the better," the actress, best known for her role as Gabrielle Solis in the television series "Desperate Housewives," said.

Longoria also directed the documentary "Latinos Living the American Dream."

Source EFE

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Posted in child labor 2011 , Desperate Housewives , Eva Longoria , Gabrielle Solis , latino , Latinos Living the American Dream , Mexican-America