Eva Longoria - 2008 ALMA Awards Nominations

At the announcement of this year’s 2008 nominees, the actress explained how she wanted to shine the light on some fresh blood: “Everybody knows Desperate Housewives, let’s recognise the people that you may not know are on certain shows.”

She was excited for her Desperate Housewives co-star Ricardo Chavira (who play’s Carlos) and his nomination for Best Supporting Actor: “Oh yes!” but she hurridly added “I had nothing to do with that, it was all him.”

Eva may not pick up a gong, but she’s executive producer and hosting this year’s ceremony. The actress explained why the event is so personally important to her: “I think the only person that I knew who was Latino when I was growing up was Rita Moreno on West Side Story. There weren’t a lot of Latino role models.

“That’s why the Alma Awards are so important because we celebrate and recognise and honour the contribution of Latinos.”