CBS gave Latinos an hour of primetime TV to honor essential workers. Did it land?

There's no dancing around it: The pandemic has devastated Latino communities in the United States.

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Hispanic people in the United States are 2.8 times more likely than white non-Hispanics to contract COVID-19, 4.6 times more likely to be hospitalized and 10% more likely to die from COVID-19. Non-Hispanic Black and Indigenous communities have fared even worse.

Hoping to draw attention to the risks and sacrifices Latinos in the U.S. have made during the coronavirus crisis, CBS aired a primetime, celebrity-studded special of musical and comedy performances on Monday night hosted by Eva Longoria and Ricky Martin. "Essential Heroes: A Momento Latino Event" mixed sets from Pitbull and Luis Fonsi with emotional mini-documentaries about regular Americans making their contributions to the effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

It was an unprecedented, institutional show of support for Latino talent in the mainstream; CBS has remained the most-watched network on American television for 12 consecutive years, and its viewership skews older than other networks. The entertainer-activist coalition Momento Latino helped produce the show along with Funny or Die, keeping things relatively light throughout but still bringing viewers serious tales about frontline workers and success stories of people serving their communities during