John Leguizamo, Gina Torres and Eva Longoria are among the actors appearing in the new ABC special Latinos in Hollywood: Owning Our Destiny.

The special, part of the network’s monthlong coverage celebrating Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month, is hosted by What Would You Do? host John Quiñones, with the stars opening up about their careers, and giving insight into the importance of representation and visibility, both in front of and behind the camera. 

Leguizamo tells Quiñones he was inspired to produce more Latino-based shows, like his hits Mambo Mouth and Spic-o-Rama, because of what he didn’t see as a child.

“When I was growing up, there was very little of Latin content that I could see myself reflected back in so I started writing my own stuff,” he shares. “I was writing it for Latino youth like myself, so they can see themselves the way we saw ourselves. Vital, alive, intellectual, funny.” 

Torres, star of 9-1-1 Lonestar, says she fought to make her character on the show, Tommy Vega, Afro-Latina, sharing it was important to her “because there’s still women and men who don’t understand that they’re important.”

Other actors participating in the special include Edward James Olmos, Will Trent star Ramón Rodríguez, Rita Moreno and Xochitl Gomez.

Latinos in Hollywood: Owning Our Destiny airs Friday on ABC at 8 p.m. ET and streams on Hulu the next day.

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